Sunrise, Sunset
by Wings of a Wolf
Summary: After failing to retrieve Sasuke again, Naruto receives another of Akatsuki's friendly invitations to join them. Given very little choice, Naruto decided to go with them in hopes of gaining the power needed to bring Sasuke home. ItaNaru, yaoi. NO PLANS TO UPDATE WITHIN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, SO DON'T ASK.
1. Part One: A Repetition of Failure

_Warning: This fic is about the extremely complicated relationship that sprouts between Itachi and Naruto when Naruto joins Akatsuki in the hopes of getting Sasuke back. The romance, if it ever should appear, is not going to be traditional or even particularly romantic. There might (just might, mind you) be a character death in the future and the only guarantee I can give you is that it won't be Naruto and everything will be fine in the end. There will be hints of both Itachi/Naruto and NaruSasu and I use both translations of Akatsuki (dawn and red moon, though it uses the kanji for dawn) because I don't think it was a mistake that it can mean both considering the Tsukuyomi. This is a divergent timeline that picks up around chapter 312 in the manga, when Naruto was learning the wind jutsu but before he learned the wind shuriken._

_Sankyuu!_

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**Sunrise, Sunset: Part One**

_A Repetition of Failure_

That night Naruto could still see Sasuke when he closed his eyes. He could see Sasuke staring at him with those Sharingan eyes, Sasuke not pulling away when Orochimaru touched his arm, Sasuke's deadened stare. Every single motion that Sasuke had ever made was burned into his retina.

He didn't have enough power to get Sasuke back. Even having gained his new skills with wind chakra, he was still lacking something. He still was nowhere near Sasuke's level, not really. It was just another of a long list of failed attacks and it wasn't getting any easier. Tsunade had already mentioned that she was being pressured to stop trying to get Sasuke to return. She couldn't risk the lives of the ninja she cared for when it was this hopeless.

Sasuke had left to get power and he had most assuredly gotten it. Naruto couldn't keep up. He had the chakra, he had the ability, but somehow Sasuke was always one step ahead. They were the same level, but Sasuke was just a little bit faster, smarter, better. He had all of Orochimaru's organization watching out for him and Naruto didn't have anyone. He was used to it. It made him stronger.

The ceiling of the hospital was getting so familiar. It was white, but there were small stains and kunai marks just above the bed where Naruto had thrown things when he was bored. He was starting to think they reserved this bed just for him and his mistakes.

Blue eyes traced over the little shuriken point marks that proudly spelled out his name, UZUMAKI NARUTO, on the ceiling. He was so tired, but he couldn't sleep. He was a failure again, the dead last, the loser. It had never sounded more mocking than when repeated in Naruto's head late at night in this bed. Collapsing after training like this was something that he was sure Sasuke himself had never done. He had even managed to beat himself up practically into a bloodied pulp, blackening one eye and nearly breaking his arm.

Sasuke would never come back. If he did he would probably be killed on the spot, Uchiha bloodline be damned. What had Sai proved if not that? Sai might not be like that now, but there were so many other people that were just waiting to kill Sasuke if he should ever return. Naruto could recognize Sasuke's face in his mind's eye when he remembered that almost fond smile. "Loser," Sasuke had said before his fight with Gaara, but he had been smiling. The power that had ripped through him at the Valley of the End forced him to his knees when the battle had been finished. He had sat there, leaning over Naruto as if memorizing every inch of his face for when he left. He had been so close, yet so far, and Naruto had been unable to move anymore. He had just laid there like a lump, barely conscious, as Sasuke's breath ghosted over his cheek.

"I think he's awake, Itachi."

Naruto froze suddenly, turning his gaze from the ceiling to the left of the bed. He couldn't feel a chakra signature. It was like they weren't even there.

Kisame was grinning down at him. It was not a particularly pleasant sight when one had as many sharp teeth as Kisame did. Beside him was Itachi, face impassive. His dark red eyes watched Naruto without his expression changing a wit as Naruto struggled to sit up.

His face shape was a bit rounder than Sasuke's and he was a great deal prettier than his brother was, yet when Naruto looked at him he saw the resemblance even more now than when he had first seen Itachi. It was Sasuke staring out of that face at fifteen years old, revealing nothing as he looked down at Naruto and forced him back to Konoha with his tail between his legs.

It was safer to look at Kisame than Itachi, pointed teeth aside, so Naruto did. "What do _you_ guys want," he sneered, looking between the two of them with equal contempt.

"He isn't scared stiff by us this time, Itachi-san," Kisame said, that frightening smile still on his face. "The first time he met us he couldn't even say a word.

"Yes." Itachi was still looking at Naruto, studying the teenager's pained movements when he tried to move. It was obvious that whatever he had been doing previously had been difficult, especially considering how quickly the blonde must be able to heal due to the Nine-Tailed Fox.

Naruto steeled himself to look in Itachi's eyes. He didn't want to do it; Sharingan eyes were even more powerful when their gaze was met directly. It was hard to judge what he was feeling without looking at them, though. They were the only part of his face that showed any emotion at all.

It was surprising when there was no sudden invasion into his mind, just the quiet, self-assured statement, "You are coming with us."

Naruto blinked. His chakra was nearly depleted because of all of his training. He knew that he couldn't fight them, not right now. He stared at them as they stood there, black cloaks flaring around them in a way that made them look dark and forbidding. Everything they did was calculated to impress, every motion an intimidation. They had probably expected to scare him out of a sound sleep, appearing in the middle of the night like wraiths in a mist, and they were extremely confident they could get what they wanted.

They were S-Ranked criminals that shinobi were supposed to kill on sight, powerful beyond belief and most of them were stronger than Orochimaru, even. Stronger than Sasuke?

They were... stronger than Sasuke _and_ his mentor.

He had promised Sakura. He had sworn an oath to her. He would bring Sasuke back, no matter what, and make their team whole once again.

He remembered saying he would be Hokage one day, promising it, and it was still what he wanted most in the world. '_I want to be the next Hokage! Then everyone in the village will have to stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody!'_

Yet….

A bandaged hand reached up to touch the pendant around his neck. It had once belonged to the First Hokage, a man whom surely would not approve of Naruto going anywhere with Akatsuki when he was still able to kill himself to get out of it.

His vow to be the next Hokage. The Oath of Pain he had sworn when he had said he would never let Sasuke show him up again. His promise to Sakura. He was tied up by his oaths like they were wire, crisscrossing and conflicting until he wasn't sure which was which and he could cut a single one in case that would make the entire web tighten around his throat.

'_There's still someone I have to kill. I don't want to die...'_

Sasuke's vows. Naruto's vows. What did it all amount to?

Blue eyes closed, breaking off the contact with the Sharingan. Naruto reached out to pick up one of the blank scrolls that were stacked messily on the bedside table, writing on it in messy, hurried handwriting: _Sorry. It looks like dawn approaches faster than you think._

"All right," he growled, setting the scroll back down, "but if you expect me to move very fast, I'm going to need help."

Kisame looked confused and smug at the same time, but Itachi was, as always, unreadable.

"Let's go."


	2. Part Two: The Approaching Dawn

_Thanks to everyone that reviewed! I hope that I managed to reply to everyone. Sometimes I forget, but I try really hard to remember!_

_You know, something strikes me as odd (but very helpful.) When Naruto and Haku were having their little conversation about dreams, Naruto said that his dream was to be respected and he tacked "Hokage" on there as a means to an end, not as the end itself. Eh, just a cool note._

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**Sunrise, Sunset: Part Two**

_The Approaching Dawn_

It was strange to travel with two members of Akatsuki in the moonlight. The full moon created dark shadows on the smooth planes of Naruto's face, turning him into something that looked as wild as the beast sealed inside of him. Itachi's thoughts were dispassionate as he appraised that face. It was beautiful, in a way, but handsome and by no means delicate. Naruto appeared defeated for once, his body wrapped in bandages that covered all of his arms and most of his side under his clothing. His eye looked like it had been swollen shut, but it had healed quickly and looked no more than badly bruised now.

Kisame was the one carrying Naruto. Despite that, the boy didn't look fragile compared to the other ninja's tall, broad body. He rightly should have, but it was true that although Naruto was a great deal smaller than Kisame, he was a child no longer. He was a ninja, a powerful one, who it was said might one day become the next Hokage. He had gathered so much support and trust over his years that even without the Kyuubi he was a serious threat to Akatsuki.

He must have been battling Sasuke again, or training to battle him at the very least. The thought made Itachi's lip curl in disdain. If Sasuke thought that he could beat Itachi by studying under one as low as that snake he had to be insane. Orochimaru was powerful, yes, but he cared nothing about sharing that power. The only thing that he wanted to do was cause destruction. He didn't even want to gain anything from the wars that he caused. Orochimaru just wanted to laugh as everything crumbled around him and he lived on, immortal. It was a pathetic, worthless ambition.

"You should feel lucky that the Leader wants to seal your Nine-Tails in person," Kisame was saying, shark smile firmly plastered onto his bluish face. "It's some honor for a brat like you."

It was strange when Naruto smiled. It was a weary smile, but as cunning as that of the fox. "Don't worry about me, fish-breath. I've got a plan of my own."

Sharingan eyes narrowed. Uzumaki Naruto wasn't known for his planning or his intelligence, but rather for his charisma and honor. "Plans" were not the kind of thing that Naruto implemented very often. Itachi looked away, dismissing it from his mind without effort. Strategy was not Naruto's strong point. The Leader was sure to be able to handle anything the Nine-Tailed child threw at him.

It was an hour and a half later when Naruto struggled to get away from Kisame. "Let me down, gills-for-brains. I think I can walk now."

"You're not very respectful to your kidnappers, you know that, brat?" Kisame snarled.

Itachi raised an eyebrow at the ex-Mist nin. "Leave him alone, Kisame."

Kisame sighed unhappily but let Naruto crouch on the tree branch, his bare feet gripping the bark as best they could and the threads in his mesh shirt catching the light from the moon.

"All right, ugly. Lead the way."

"Ugh, the insults. Are you sure that I can't chop off-"

"No."

The fox sealed in Naruto was most evident in the way that he sprung from branch to branch. Unlike the two ninja beside him, he moved on all fours like an animal, feet steadying him and hands pushing off for the next jump. It looked very... odd. Had Naruto's friends just gotten used to it, or had they never even noticed?

The sun was just peeking over the horizon when the complaints started. Naruto's feet hurt. His back ached. He was getting kinda hungry, y'know, and did either of them have any ramen? Jeez, you'd think they'd have some humanity, clan-killing and sharkyness aside. Kisame had finally threatened to hit him with the Samehada, but that had only stopped him for a few moments before he asked in a rather annoyed tone if they could stop for a few minutes.

Itachi lowered his eyes. You would think that he wasn't being kidnapped but was actually coming of his own will. Even the fox couldn't be that suicidal, however.

That was why they were sitting underneath the trees several miles from Konoha, Naruto watching intently as the pot of ramen began to bubble in its place over the fire.

"Are you sure we can't kill him just a little bit?" Kisame asked, his pale eyes looking decidedly unhappy. Itachi was amused. "Whoever would have thought that we'd be bringing him back without him being unconscious?"

That _was_ strange. They had all studied Naruto to some extent, looked over his missions and the support that he had gathered from the people, noted the fact that he never gave up. Itachi even believed that Naruto had once said that never giving up was his nindo, his ninja way. Something wasn't right about this. One of his assumptions had to be wrong.

"Yo, sharky! Ramen's ready. You better not eat all of it, either," Naruto called. He looked a bit mischievous for some reason, but Itachi wasn't going to bother telling Kisame. When Kisame was squalling over some strange and noxious substance in his food, he wished otherwise, but not for long.

Naruto was pointedly not speaking to him. It probably had something to do with Sasuke, but it felt strange to be snubbed by such a loudmouth. Naruto wasn't creating too much of a fuss about being with them, either, which meant that he did indeed have a plan. What plan could someone like Naruto really come up with, though?

Since it wasn't coming together quite yet, Itachi ordered Kisame to pack up. Discreetly, he put Samehada a few feet away so that Naruto wouldn't be killed before they reached Akatsuki's base. The Leader would most certainly not be happy if that happened.

When he looked up, he saw bright blue eyes on him. They turned away immediately and the Leaf nin started playing with a kunai, tossing it up and down in some sort of game.

He was even armed. Itachi was definitely missing something.

It was inevitable that they did have to take a breather eventually, so they set up camp shortly after noon. The hot sun beat down on them and it was getting difficult to move as quickly as they had.

Kisame had first watch, so it was Itachi that had to try and sleep while around other people. It was hard for him to do so, as it was hard for any ninja to do, especially when he had an unknown like Naruto with him. The fox was an enemy ninja, his seeming obedience aside.

It took a moment for Sharingan to fade to the dark gray of Itachi's normal eyes, a color that was very near to black.

He settled a good distance away from the others but still within hearing distance of Naruto's snores, trying to rest just a few moments before they had to move again. He failed.

It took Naruto quite a while to fall asleep also, though he covered it well with his fake snoring. The truth was, he hadn't thought this all the way through. There were only so many months left before Orochimaru would take over Sasuke's body and he couldn't waste them in any way. What if he was wrong about this? It would take all of his remaining time to escape from Akatsuki if that happened. He didn't know enough.

One blue eye cracked open to stare at Itachi, who was leaning against a tree, eyes closed but obviously still awake. He looked even more like Sasuke with his face relaxed a little bit and his eyes closed.

Naruto closed his own eyes, quickly pushing everything from his mind so that he could fall asleep. He had made his choice, for now.

To be respected by Konoha by becoming the Hokage, to never need to be protected, to help the Hyuuga clan for Neji and Hinata, to get Sasuke back. There were so many oaths and Naruto was beginning to think that to achieve any one of them he was going to have to forget another.

The whispers that had followed him around that village were something that he still wanted to change. He had to, if he wanted any rest. How could he do that now? Sooner or later, Konoha would realize that he was with Akatsuki of his own free will. He would be branded a traitor if the elders got their way. They would finally have the excuse they needed to have him put down.

Would even becoming Hokage help him? Now that he was older, he thought that he might understand. Respect had to be earned. He couldn't go around shouting, "I'm gonna be the next Hokage!" like he had when he was a little kid. To succeed, thoughts had to be turned into actions, and everyone would have to accept that he wasn't the Kyuubi of their own free will.

He had wanted it for so long. He still wanted it. There was so much that was wrong with the world, so many things that he wanted to change.

To be respected by Konoha by becoming the Hokage, to never need to be protected, to help the Hyuuga clan for Neji and Hinata, to get Sasuke back.

He would find a way if he had to tear up both Orochimaru and Akatsuki on his way out. This was his mess. He would find a way to make everything he had promised happen.

Naruto sighed. That was all he could hope for, for now.

* * *

By the time anyone came to Naruto's hospital room it was clear that he had been gone for nearly half a day.

The room was lit by the bright sunlight that gave the Land of Fire its name, streaming in through the window to pattern the floor attractively. It was shortly before noon, as could be told by the sweat beading on Sakura's flushed face. She would almost think that they gave Naruto the most difficult room to get to; it seemed to take forever to reach it, especially in the midday heat.

Tsunade had given her express orders: beat Naruto until he stops moping. Those hadn't been her exact words, but Sakura had interpreted it as such and had immediately set off to do so. Her boy Naruto was the kind of person that took everything personally. She knew that well enough from her genin days with him. Letting Sasuke slip through his grasp again had been hard on him. He had looked so guilty two years ago when he had told her that he had lost Sasuke, like his world had come crashing down and there was nothing left to hold on to. It was that lost child look she had seen in his eyes sometimes, one of the things that had made her look past his lack of parents and start treating him and Sasuke the same.

If only she had been able to visit sooner. Tsunade's schedule was hectic, and finding time to train with her was a challenge at the best of times. It was always worth it, though. She didn't want to stand around anymore, unable to help her teammates while they lay there motionless, dying before her eyes. She would protect them with every ounce of strength in her body and help them as much as she could. Sakura wasn't talented, but she was smart. That would have to be good enough to help them. It had to be.

The bed was empty, the white sheets strewn all over it and a slight indent in the pillow. A fond smile appeared Sakura's face, quiet and small. Naruto was such an idiot. He was supposed to be in bed for at least another day, not running around Rasengan-ing everything in sight, which was probably what he was doing.

She crossed the room in a few quick steps. Sitting down on the messy bed, she touched the indent in the pillow with a wistful sigh. She wished that Naruto was here to keep her company. She had missed him when he had left to train with Jiraiya. It seemed like everyone she loved was leaving her in this changeless place with nothing to do but miss them and hope they would return safely. It was a faint thought in her mind that this must be what being Hokage felt like.

There was something hard under the pillow. Chewing absently on a strand of her soft pink hair, she reached under to draw out a scroll. There were a couple of words written in Naruto's childish handwriting, more of a strange scratching, really. "READ ME!"

_Sorry. It looks like dawn approaches faster than you think._

Her hand clenched over the scroll for a moment, making sweaty smears of the ink. _'Dawn? What's that supposed to….'_ Her green eyes widened. "Naruto!"

Akatsuki. Akatsuki had taken Naruto? Her lip tore when she bit into it and she quickly made a hand sign. The Hokage needed to know about this.

She couldn't lose them both.

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_Naruto is in such denial (but if you can't guess why, I'm not going to tell you.) Sakura was difficult, yet fun, to write. I had to redo that section with her three times. Sorry if anything is awkward; I didn't have time to proof-read anything. Anyway, please review and tell me what you think. All comments are appreciated._


	3. Part Three: Sulfur and Brimstone

_Argh, this is so difficult. Tsunade's section irks me and for some reason Naruto's narrative seems off._

_Eh, sorry for the lateness. I planned on having it out Sunday, but it went astray. See, Prince of Tennis called to me. It said "Tezuka/Ryoma" and would not stop. Anyone know of a multi-part with that pairing? I must read one or I will perish._

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**Sunrise, Sunset: Part Three**

_Sulfur and Brimstone_

Tsunade's office was the kind of space that showed the personality of the woman who spent most of her time in it, free or otherwise. Her walls were covered with many maps of the world, with a ratio slightly in favor of the Land of Fire. They were marked with various colored pins and were written on in various places. Splashed across one was a handwriting that would have been loud given a voice: "The Great Naruto Bridge. Pretty cool, ne, old hag?" The sake set in the corner looked well-used and she had a dice cup on the corner of her desk that was worn and scuffed. It only had a teetering hold on the desk because of the paperwork that covered almost every available surface, not excluding the floor. It didn't take long for it to fall into a small dish laid on the floor for a certain pig.

Tsunade, as the cleanliness of her office suggested, was a very busy woman. She had been a very busy woman ever since she had become Hokage. She was, in fact, in the middle of looking over the incoming missions when Sakura appeared in the room in a puff of smoke. "What is it, Sakura?" she asked irritably. The black ink of the scroll she was reading danced before her eyes like snakes wriggling in snow. As with most of the past Hokage of the Leaf Village she was always past deadlines on the work she needed to do; if there was ever a person who needed to retire, it was Tsunade.

"Akatsuki took Naruto!" Sakura gasped. Tsunade looked up then. Sakura was flushed and shaking. Her green eyes seeming to have teared against her will, appearing large and wet in her pinched face. "We have to find him, Tsunade-sama!"

"Sakura, you can't be serious!"

She could see that the girl was, however. The kunoichi began to babble incoherently about dawn and notes and bad handwriting, her voice wavering the entire time. Tsunade closed her eyes. Naruto... couldn't be gone. He was under the protection of the entire village of Konoha. How could Akatsuki have taken him right from underneath their noses?

The image of his bright blue eyes flashed through her mind, laughing. The papers she had been holding crumpled in her hand.

It was too late. Akatsuki had too much of a head start. Naruto would be dead by the time they found him.

* * *

Naruto was having fun. It was a surprise when he found out that no matter how much he teased Kisame, Itachi stopped him before the other man drew Samehada and started swinging wildly at Naruto's head. A surprise, yes, but not too much of a shock. It would be hard for Naruto to follow them if he was missing a leg, and although Itachi hadn't stopped Kisame the first time they had tried to abduct Naruto, he had been rather distracted by Jiraiya.

"What did he _put_ in that ramen?" Kisame was grumbling from somewhere in Itachi's direction. "I swear that it tasted like... Ugh." The large man suddenly bent over and began to make hacking noises over the bush. Naruto snickered.

"You better not slow us down, Kisame," Itachi said, his tone vaguely annoyed.

"I... but, he…!"

There were more sounds of Kisame being ill.

Itachi sighed slightly, apparently deciding to ignore the heaving coming from beside him. Sharingan eyes turned to Naruto; he could feel Itachi's gaze bore into his back.

"Why haven't you tried to escape?"

The blonde turned slowly, letting his eyes meet Itachi's. "Now why would I want to do that right now?" He grinned. "I think I've got it good. I'm out of the village and sure, you might be taking me off to kill me and extract the Kyuubi, but I figure that I've got a while to figure out where that snake is hiding from you guys. I'm sure that I can handle fish-breath when it's time to escape and with any luck you'll decide that I can go for a brief amount of time to take Orochimaru's perverted hands off your little brother. Before you try to kill me again, of course."

Red eyes narrowed. "You aren't saying everything."

He smiled. "Course not! I'm not stupid." For some reason, Kisame wiped his mouth and started laughing. Naruto frowned. "Hey, I'm not! Are you listening to me? Get over here, you creep! I'll tell you what I put in your ramen. _Then_ you won't be laughing."

Blue skin turned, quite abruptly, green as Kisame began to look ill once more. Itachi gave the ex-Mist shinobi a look.

"Let's go."

Naruto knew that Itachi saw it when he flinched, but there were some things that even the Sharingan couldn't analyze, especially when Konoha's Number One Hyperactive Knucklehead Ninja shouted for a distraction, "Hey! There's something I've always been wondering, sharky. Do you lay eggs?"

The yelling began again and would continue for most of the trip back to Akatsuki's headquarters.

* * *

Once Sasuke had been around Orochimaru enough to stop being disturbed by his strange appearance and unsettling chakra, he had realized that Orochimaru was actually quite pretty. He wasn't handsome because handsome would denote some kind of masculinity. No, Orochimaru had the kind of attractiveness that begged the question of whether he was actually male or female.

Not that Sasuke was looking. It was just that after being around Orochimaru for so long, given all of his unattractive subordinates, he had learned to rest his eyes on the most attractive thing around just to save his eyesight. Given Orochimaru's experimentations on all of those in his employ, it left very little room for physical attractiveness. Of course, once Sasuke thought about all that Orochimaru did to keep his pretty face, he tended to ignore the prettiness in favor of just being disgusted.

Sasuke couldn't remember why he had started to think about Orochimaru's attributes, but it might have something to do with the lack anything to do. His days were spent training and growing stronger, but that left very little for him to actually spend his time doing when he was too weary to continue for the day. There wasn't much _besides_ training to do at Orochimaru's castle; it was damp there, and dark, and to be honest, he missed the people that he might have called his friends.

"Might have," though, were the key words. He might have called them his friends at one point, but he didn't have that luxury anymore. He could not have friends if he wanted to gain power. He could not be distracted, could not be deterred from his path; he could not falter. He lived to be an Avenger, nothing more.

"Why are you staring at me, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke winced. That was another bad thing about Orochimaru's castle. Orochimaru flirted with nearly everyone that he met and seemed especially flirtatious with anyone who he chose to be his next body. There was possibly a good reason for that: maybe he didn't want his future body to contaminated by anyone, so he tried to secure loyalty by making his subordinates fall in love with him. Still, though, it was a creepy thought considering Orochimaru could be his father, or even more likely, his grandfather.

"Would you rather have me stare at the floor?" Sasuke said caustically, red eyes flashing angrily up at the snake Sannin. "I suppose that _is_ the more attractive possibility." Well, no, but it made Orochimaru angry. Thin lips tightened before they were forcibly eased back into a smile.

"I suppose that I shouldn't teach you that new jutsu, then, if seeing me disturbs you so," he said with an exaggerated sigh. "We only have so much time left, you know, Sasuke-kun."

And Sasuke was scared about that, not that he would tell Orochimaru, but he wouldn't leap at this opportunity to free himself from this boredom and these thoughts. He wouldn't.

"If you really need me to learn it that badly, I suppose that I could learn this one jutsu. I'll get my stuff."

Turning away, he didn't see Orochimaru's slight smile of amusement.

* * *

It took twelve days to reach Akatsuki headquarters. They had doubled back a couple of times, no doubt confusing their tracks so that Konoha nin couldn't follow them. Naruto didn't have a good sense of direction at the best of times and was now utterly confused. He only knew that they were no longer in the Land of Fire and were therefore out of his normal territory. Beyond that, they could have been on the moon for all he knew.

He was led into whatever the headquarters were blindfolded and tied. Kisame had muttered several times what a great honor this was, as if Naruto was going off to be personally introduced to a foreign Kage or something. He didn't have the slightest clue why the sharky held their leader in such high regard. It was like they were actually a village. A tiny, tiny village consisting of less than a dozen members, most of whose favorite pastime was murder. Then again, that was just like a real Hidden Village.

His nose twitched, bringing to him an earthy scent. They weren't underground, precisely, so if Naruto had to guess they would probably in some sort of carved-out mountain. A strategically wise move, but a rather villainous one.

"We're probably the only ones here besides Leader," he heard Kisame say. He snorted. Kisame was acting like Naruto's ears didn't work anymore because his eyes were covered.

"Good," the second voice came, soft but arrogant and sounding suspiciously similar to Sasuke's. "I don't want to deal with Hidan and his bloodlust at the moment."

_'Wonderful. Now they're both acting like I'm not even here.'_ That was when the vague feeling of irritation began on the back of his neck.

"Hey, I've got an itch! Why'd you guys have to tie me up all of a sudden? It's not like I'm _going_ anywhere."

"I suppose the question would be, then, why aren't you?"

This third voice was cold and callous, one that would have made Naruto shudder if he hadn't already heard one that had more than a passing resemblance to it. The third voice had nothing on the Kyuubi.

Despite feeling a sudden wave of nerves, Naruto inwardly grinned. This was where it really began.

One way or another.

* * *

_And no, the plan has not yet been revealed, just in case you thought that Naruto's little talk with Itachi was the plan. As for me, I'll ignore the fact that I ever briefly (very briefly) considered Orochimaru/Sasuke. Thank the gods that it was only briefly. Please review so that the plot bunnies for __Sunrise, Sunset__ hop._


	4. Part Four: Promises

_You owe the speediness of this chapter to the fact that Naruto Shippuden premiered in Japan today, February 15th! I hope someone uploads the episodes so I can watch them... preferably translated, but I'm willing to do without if I have to! I've watched so much subtitled anime that I'm beginning to understand half of what they say without the subtitles._

_In other news, Prince of Tennis now not only says "Tezuka/Ryoma" to me, it also says "Fuji/Ryoma." If only it would stop talking to me! Ooh... Momo/Ryoma... must read..._

**Sunrise, Sunset: Part Four**

_Promises_

For some reason, the constant dripping noise and the earthy smell were reminding Naruto of the Kyuubi's cage the few times that he had seen it. It was a memory brought up by that voice, so similar to the Kyuubi's in pure evil alone.

Someone's hand unknotted the blindfold. Fluttering, it fell to the ground, allowing Naruto the sight of Akatsuki's leader. He had red hair, an orange sort of color rather than Gaara's red, and red eyes as well. They weren't Sharingan red, not quite, but they reminded Naruto of something all the same.

"Am I supposed to be impressed or something?" Naruto drawled. Shifting his weight back on one leg, he readied himself for a fight as much as he could, tied up as he was. "I mean, you're being all scary and popping out of the dark and stuff. Someone might think you were insecure."

A hand smacked the back of his head sharply. "Shut up, brat! You should be more respectful," Kisame hissed. Naruto shrugged, lifting his eyes to meet demonic red one's once more. He frowned once he did. Akatsuki's leader didn't get worked up the same way that Kisame or even Sakura would have. He just smiled in a way that showed entirely too many teeth for Naruto's peace of mind.

"You never answered my question."

_'This is not the kind of guy you'd want to piss off,'_ Naruto thought in passing. "Why aren't I going anywhere? Jeez, I'd figure that someone would guess it by now." A red eyebrow arched elegantly. Naruto couldn't see Itachi or Kisame beside him, not willing to look away from such an obviously dangerous presence as their leader, but he was willing to bet that Itachi looked annoyed since he had been trying to get the answer out of Naruto himself. "You guys want to Nine-Tailed Fox and the other Tails so that you can be all politically-powerful and dominate the world and stuff, right?"

"That's not quite what I would say."

Naruto waved the reply away irritably. "So, yeah, that's what you want. It's a noble goal, really and truly, but I can one-up you on that." He paused for effect and, unfortunately, received absolutely no response. "See, I made a promise to someone important to me. Well, several promises, in fact, but I can only work on so many things at the same time. I promised to get Sasuke back. I'm sure that Orochimaru gives you plenty of opportunities to save people and trick them into liking you and all that, but it's gotta bother you that he betrayed you. So I figured we could work out a little trade of services. I could kill Orochimaru for you if you teach me how and you could kill me. Sasuke would probably try to kill the Brooding One over here, but it can be part of our deal that Sasuke won't be killed and we'll all be happy. Okay, so Sasuke won't, but he's such a bastard that he never is anyway."

The look that was turned on Naruto was one both regarding and heavy with some sort of dark amusement. "Wouldn't you be a bit unhappy, being dead? Though, I suppose your death is rather imminent."

Naruto grinned. "You'll just have to take it as a given that I won't live up to the deal. Get it? 'Live?' Heh."

Itachi shifted his weight slightly, brushing Naruto's left side with his cloak. For some reason, the movement seemed entirely too loud and entirely too close.

"You would be essentially betraying your village. I would think that someone like you would be bothered by that kind of thing."

Blue eyes were still smiling. "Nah. I mean, Tsunade totally loves me and Sakura would hardly let anyone kill me. So I figure one year confinement to the village, tops, and I might be able to ruin Akatsuki when I'm escaping from you, so you won't be after me anymore. It'll work out."

He received a laugh at that. For some reason, it was more frightening than even that voice or the feral baring of teeth.

"Your audacity is admirable. Perhaps we shouldn't extract the fox... quite yet."

* * *

Itachi didn't admire Naruto's audacity. To be quite frank, Naruto's audacity was stupidity in the plainest sense of the word. Naruto had absolutely no clue what he was up against when he threatened the Leader.

Itachi's opinions were, of course, of no consequence, so he was the one that found himself showing Naruto to his new room. Akatsuki's headquarters were a series of interlinking caves, but it wasn't a dank place. The mountain caves were an interesting set up that must have taken a very long time to build. The middle of the mountain was hollowed out entirely to give the hint of sky as well as an inner training area, though it wasn't evident if you looked at it from outside. Very few of the rooms had windows because of the consequence that it was a secret base, but those that did opened to the middle. Itachi had one of these coveted rooms and now Naruto did as well.

"Give our coveted guest one of the good rooms, why don't you?" the Leader had said. "I doubt he would much like any of the others."

Kisame, who did not have one of these rooms, had grumbled quite a bit, but it had only taken one look from the Leader's dangerous red eyes had to quell his protests. Naruto had looked sullen at that- apparently he, too, desired the ability to make Kisame stop talking at will.

Itachi opened the door to the room silently, gesturing for Naruto to step inside before him.

"Wow!" the fox exclaimed. "This is bigger than my whole apartment back in Konoha." He ran all through it, looking into just about everything as if he expected the room to actually have something other than the basic necessities in it, or perhaps nervous from the time spent alone with his best friend's brother.

Itachi looked around the room. It didn't seem that big to him. It was actually smaller than most of the rooms in his family's estate that now stood empty in the Uchiha compound of Konoha. His room in that house was a bit bigger than this, actually. Sasuke had often played in there when Itachi had been reading scrolls, so it had never seemed too large.

"You have courage, to talk to the Leader like that."

Naruto turned away from the bed, eyes involuntarily meeting Itachi's when he blinked up at him. "Nah, he's nothing compared to the Nine-Tailed Fox," he boasted before smiling oddly and turning back to look out the window.

Itachi was getting heartily sick of being ignored every time that Naruto remembered that he should. It wasn't a feeling that Itachi was used to. Everywhere that he walked, he gained recognition either because of his name or because of the overwhelming presence of his chakra. Having someone not acknowledge at him had never been a problem before. Not being looked at was almost a familiar sensation by now, as people were often uneasy by the sheer penetrative force of the Sharingan, but having someone go out of their way to disregard him was a strange thing.

Perhaps, though, Itachi knew what it was that was disturbing Naruto. "How... was my brother, when you last saw him?"

There it was: the flinch. Naruto did not even turn. "He's a lot like you."

Despite who it was coming from, it should have been a compliment to Itachi. Yet for some reason, Itachi was unable to take it as one.

"I bet he looks a great deal like me now, too. Is that why you're afraid of me?"

That caused Naruto to whirl around and face him, furious blue eyes meeting Itachi's amused crimson ones. "I'm not afraid of you!"

"Then you might try hiding it a little better. I'll leave you to settle in."

He could hear Naruto seethe when he turned his back on him. It almost sounded like a growl. It was even more similar to a whimper of pain.

* * *

Naruto clenched his hands against the windowsill.

_'Itachi has no right—no RIGHT—to talk about Sasuke like that!'_

The power thrummed at his fingertips, as heady as wine. He could feel the pulse of it under his skin. He forced it down, though. Control had been one of the things that training with Jiraiya had gained him, as well as a healthy appreciation of restraint in all sexual matters considering how many women had come up to Jiraiya and tried to kill him. Control was what was keeping Akatsuki's base standing.

An even more uncomfortable thought was that Itachi was a lot like Sasuke in more ways than just how they looked. They acted the same as well. Sasuke would have sneered just like that, but even more obviously. He would have prodded Naruto in the same way, and his words may have been different, but the object was the same. Pissing Naruto off.

That didn't explain why Itachi had looked so very annoyed, but Naruto wasn't a god. He couldn't figure out everything to do with the Uchiha clan and still have his sanity. Though, given Itachi's attitude and the Leader's deadly smile, he probably wasn't going to have his sanity as it was.

Well. At least Sasuke would be back, if Akatsuki lived up to their end of the bargain.

Naruto frowned. The Leader hadn't promised anything, actually. He would have to change that. Hell, he'd make the guy sign his name is blood if he had to.

Naruto had a promise to keep.

To be honest, he wasn't as sure as he had sounded that Konoha would take him back once they figured out what he was doing. They _would_ figure it out, too. Sakura would never accept that one of her boys was gone for good even if Tsunade did. He was scared, not that he was about to say it out loud. Gaining power was Sasuke's thing, not his.

Sasuke and he were still at the same level, pretty much. They could clash over and over again, but the result, for now, would be the same. Naruto needed to make gaining power his goal, just as Sasuke had. Otherwise he would break too many promises.

Otherwise, he would never see Sasuke smile like that again. That slight smile, following an insult so that you could be sure that it was all Sasuke.

He had left so many things behind in Konoha. The friends that he had finally made after being alone most of his life, people that he had wanted to protect, the five Hokage carved into their mountain, Ichiraku Ramen. Everything. Still, he never once thought that Sasuke and his promise weren't worth it. He had turned away from Konoha once to go with Jiraiya, all in the hopes of bringing Sasuke back. This wasn't that different.

If only Konoha would see it like that.

Naruto wasn't honestly all that fond of Konoha. With Jiraiya, he had seen many places other than that village, places where the people didn't treat him like the plague, and he had liked them. It was the people in Konoha who he loved. Neji. Hinata. Shikamaru. Ino. Choji. Tenten. Lee. Shino. Even Kiba, who had never been very nice to him. He didn't know if he could stand it if they hated him for this.

Was he betraying Konoha? It seemed like something he should know.

Naruto let go of the windowsill, reaching into his pocket to pull out one of the two things he had managed to grab before going with Akatsuki: Sasuke's hitai-ate. The scratch across it was a scar against the otherwise bright surface.

The other thing he had taken was the picture of the four of them, Team Seven, with Sasuke brooding and Sakura smiling.

He would keep his promise. He had to.

* * *

_We will all now thank the gods because last chapter's temporary (no doubt caffeine-induced) insanity and momentary lack of morality has finally been fixed. The insanity has left, the morality has returned, and all is well. I am, of course, referring to the brief interlude when I thought Oro/Sasu was a good idea. The urge has passed, so don't worry. Feel free to review, because all comments, great and small are appreciated._


	5. Part Five: Distractions, Some Complex

_I saw the first three episodes of Naruto Shippuden! I am a happy girl. Naruto looks even more like Yondaime now, freakishly so, and I think Konohamaru and his team graduated a year early, which is kind of cool. Oh, and _Gaara_... I missed Gaara... Post time-skip Naruto is so cool, too! Jeez, I feel like Tomoka and Sakuno from PoT, going "kakko ii!" all the time. I can't wait for the next episode!_

_Some notes on this chapter: Sasuke's section was inspired by the latest bits of the manga, Itachi's part was actually inspired by Sasuke, who seems to have a fondness for hanging out in trees. Hehehe._

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* * *

_

**Sunrise, Sunset: Part Five**

_Distractions, Simple and Otherwise_

The first words that Naruto heard that morning were unpleasant ones.

"You stink, brat."

"Hey, what kind of jerk says that kind of thing about someone, any—oh." Naruto wrinkled his nose when he caught a whiff of his own stench. Two weeks travelling in the same clothes had not been kind to him or to his body odor.

"Yeah, oh," Kisame said, snorting. "I would be tempted to use you to get the slime from my gills if I wasn't afraid you would get it even dirtier."

Raising an eyebrow at him, the blonde shinobi swung his legs off of the bed and stood. "Proving once again that you're a dirty shark, ne?"

Kisame cuffed Naruto, who laughed, linking his hands behind his head to follow Kisame out the door. It was a few paces down the hall when Naruto asked, "You're not going to make me wear one of those freaky-looking robes, are you?"

"You're not tall enough, shrimp."

"I'm eight inches taller than I used to be; everyone looks short to you! And hey, if I'm a shrimp, does that mean you'll eat me?"

"Stop with the shark jokes already before I do something unpleasant with that wagging tongue!"

"Pervert!"

"What?"

* * *

Sasuke had a headache. This headache was caused by far too much time in Orochimaru's presence. That was understandable, of course, but what Sasuke did not understand was why a headache had been grounds for said Sannin to cancel their training for the day. Orochimaru honestly didn't seem to have much to teach him anymore since he had long mastered the snake's technique's, but it was the principle of the thing. It certainly wasn't Sasuke who had wanted to stop training, but then again, if it had been up to him he would probably train while sleeping.

This was why Sasuke could be found in his room scowling at the floor. He was not sulking. He was merely studying the boards of the floor for any cracks or nails that would cause him to rip clothing, not that he would mind ripping anything that Orochimaru had clothed him in. The bow on the clothes was strange, and as far as Sasuke understood, it was something that Orochimaru had gathered from the first person he had transferred into, a woman with taste that was, apparently, horrid.

The Uchiha heir decided to study his nails instead of the floorboards, absently removing dirt from underneath one nail. No one knew it, but his mentor seemed to take on a small portion of the mind of the person that he transferred his soul to. Sasuke, of course, wouldn't be one of these people. Despite anything that he had said, he was by no means willing to become the host of someone as perverted as the snake Sannin. That wasn't the way that Uchiha Sasuke was.

Getting to his feet, the dark-haired ninja began to pace the room. Four of his long strides caused him to nearly hit the wall, then four again as he turned and went the opposite direction.

Something about how readily Orochimaru had stopped training was bothering him.

Sasuke stopped in the middle of the room, a slow smirk spreading across his elegant, Uchiha-bred face. Perhaps…. It was a possibility, he supposed…. Orochimaru was finally weakening. As he had said, the three years were almost up, and around now would be when he was the weakest.

These next few months were going to be interesting.

* * *

Underneath the hot sun, Itachi sat in the training grounds at the hollowed-out center of the mountain. His back was pressed against the tree trunk and his leg trailed off the branch he was sitting on, hanging there lazily as he stared at the early morning sun with Sharingan eyes.

Naruto should rightly be dead by now. There was no real reason to keep him. If Akatsuki had seriously wanted Orochimaru dead, they were more than capable of doing so themselves, though there was no doubt that someone as dim as Naruto wouldn't believe that. Why had the Leader kept him alive when he was of so much more use when dead?

Pale hands linked behind inky black hair and Itachi frowned up at the sun. He had never been very good at figuring out the uses of people who were alive. Itachi was much better at getting along with the dead ones.

Perhaps the Leader simply wanted to toy with Naruto. He did that sometimes, almost cat-like in his need to toy with his food before eating it. That didn't seem to be quite right, though. The Sharingan picked up many things, the slightest move of every muscle, so much so that the flicker of thoughts through an opponent's mind could nearly be seen. The Leader had wanted to toy with Naruto, yes, but there had been something else there too, something powerful, timeless, and cruel.

The Leader was like a cat, but there was also a bit of him that was like a rabid wolf. A pack leader who was not brought down by insanity, but made stronger by it.

Akatsuki's headquarters was louder than it ever had been. Naruto's raucous yells rang through the caves, grating and loud, yet in a way... very alive. Akatsuki hadn't had that much life near it since the last time they had met with Naruto. It was annoying. It was distracting.

There was one possibility that Itachi had discarded because it was, quite frankly, ridiculous. What if the Leader thought that he could convince Naruto to join Akatsuki? It would work out well, if he did. Akatsuki wanted the power of a Tails, so that they could use the following chaos to their advantage. One of the beasts themselves would be hard to control, however. Using Naruto as he was would be a much simpler, easier solution. If Naruto actually did want to become part of Akatsuki, this would have been the way to do it. All of the members had needed to do some sort of showy event, like Itachi's clan's slaughter or Deidara's little assassination affair. Using this excuse, this "let me save Sasuke but don't expect me to live up the bargain" excuse, would let Naruto be a part of Akatsuki without actually having to go to all of the trouble that everyone else had gone to.

The Leader didn't actually think that Naruto was like that, did he? From what Itachi had seen of the loud ninja, he could tell that Naruto was not the kind of person who did that kind of thing, the sneaky, backdoor answer that was expected of most ninja.

And Naruto just wasn't a good enough strategist to think of it.

Itachi's mesh shirt shifted as he leaned forward to lie against the tree branch instead of leaning against the trunk. Absently, he took out his hair tie to let his long, dark hair hang around his face, hiding him from view.

No. The Leader wouldn't think that. He would no doubt welcome Naruto with open arms if such a thing did occur, but it just wasn't probable. There was no way that Itachi would follow the Leader if he was that stupid.

Naruto would never betray his village.

That didn't mean he wouldn't leave them, though. He had before, when he went with Jiraiya.

Somehow, the thought was unsettling. So Itachi closed his eyes and relied on his instincts to tell him if he was about to fall off the branch. He fell asleep.

* * *

Naruto had never worn black before. Akatsuki had little else, though, so that was what he had worn. Mesh shirt, black pants, and a coat that looked suspiciously like a shorter version of the Akatsuki cloak without the clouds.

"Damn, I look good in black," Naruto mumbled, preening in front of the mirror.

Kisame wasn't the kind of person that rolled his eyes, but he gave he blinked a long and disbelieving blink at Naruto's vanity. The fact that he would have done the same was beyond Kisame to comprehend, so he just hefted Samehada over his shoulder and said tersely, "C'mon, brat. Breakfast."

The blonde grinned widely. "Breakfast! Great."

He strode beside Kisame like he owned the place and, for a brief moment, Kisame wondered what it would be like when the other Akatsuki members started to show up. They rarely all came in at the same time, but they all did report in regularly. They were probably going to laugh at Kisame and Itachi for their "babysitting duty."

"Stop growling, sharky. You sound like you're going to start chomping on the walls."

"Impudent brat!" Kisame snarled, swiping at Naruto with the hand that wasn't holding Samehada. "Do you _want_ to go without breakfast?"

"I'm not sure. It might be worth it," was his reply, given with blue eyes that were a bit too bright with laughter for Kisame's liking. "I mean, if you actually started chomping on the walls that would be awful funny. What the—"

A small red fox was sitting in the middle of the hall.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time!" it said, voice obviously female. "Master said that you should bring the little kyuubi-boy down to Meeting Room so that they can "tie up a few loose ends" or something like that." Brown eyes caught Naruto's and she _purred_ at him before poofing out.

"What the hell was that?"

Kisame snorted. "A summon fox, you idiot. Better eat breakfast quick. With any luck, Leader's changed his mind."

Naruto snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn't completely sure—he couldn't be, given that it was a fox—but he had the definite feeling that he had been hit on by a small furred creature.

Naruto shuddered.

* * *

_I hope that no one minds the fact that this is going pretty slow, chapter-wise. ItaNaru probably won't be around for a while because it would be frankly strange if they rushed together considering all of the misgivings they have about one another, but hopefully the SasuNaru hints will tide you over._

_In case anyone was wondering why the chapter wasn't out on Sunday like I said it would be, I'm about 70 percent sure that I'm getting carpal tunnel syndrome. Lucky me, ne? So review, because this fic is totally ruining my wrists, and arms. And, while we're at it, I felt some suspicious twinges in my fingers. So definitely review._


	6. Part Six: Vows Written In Blood

_Damn, I wrote this chapter in two sessions. If I had just started writing sooner I wouldn't have had a problem getting this out when I wanted it to be out. In another note, I mention omurice in it, which I love and have made before. Let's see... I can now make the omelets of four different countries. Go me!_

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* * *

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**Sunrise, Sunset: Part Six**

_Vows Written In Blood_

The Akatsuki kitchen was actually fairly sophisticated for being located in the middle of a mountain. How they had gotten electricity in to it was beyond Naruto's comprehension, but he was very glad that they had. They were, however, sadly missing Naruto's One Major Food Group: ramen. That was the reason that Naruto was now making omurice, a dish that was simple enough that even Naruto could make it. To be honest, he wouldn't have known how to do it if Iruka-sensei hadn't taught him one day after figuring out that his three meals a day were all ramen. Though, considering that Iruka loved ramen just as much as Naruto did, Naruto was pretty sure that his former teacher shouldn't be allowed to carp about it so often.

"Can you make another one of those?" he heard Kisame say from behind him. His voice sounded strange, almost strangled. Naruto looked back at him with a confused look, one that didn't disappear by actually seeing him. Kisame was practically salivating over the food.

"Can't you cook?"

"Itachi's the only member of Akatsuki that can cook and he doesn't share."

Naruto snickered. "All you big, bad S-class criminal nin can't even fry an egg? You guys are pathetic!" Noting Kisame's stormy expression, he said, "Hey, don't act like that if you want an omelet, got it?" He turned back towards the food, ignoring the seething presence that was looming over his shoulder. After finishing putting the first one together, he shoved it toward Kisame. "Here. Have mine, if you're really _that_ hungry, fish bait. I can make another one."

Kisame looked flummoxed at the sudden generosity. "Er... thanks?"

"That's a good sharky."

Kisame no longer looked grateful in the least. Naruto just laughed.

After breakfast, Naruto was strolling down the halls. He was walking backward with his hands enlaced behind his head, insulting Kisame. He probably shouldn't have been doing that, but it was just that Kisame made it so very _easy_.

"What does this Leader-guy want with me anyway?"

Kisame glared before turning to look out the window. They were in one of the innermost hallways that ran around the circumference of the mountain, one of those that made it look as if they were not inside of a mountain but instead inside of a luxurious mansion. This particular one cut into the Leader's rooms directly. It was the only way that the members of Akatsuki knew to get into the rooms, as Kisame had explained, just in case Naruto was getting any ideas, but they were fairly certain that the Leader had five or six other exits that he had not bothered to tell them about. Trust was not a thing that S-class missing nin shared with one another.

"I don't know. I'm not the Leader."

Naruto snorted and fell silent, turning around so that he could see ahead of him. He caught the sight of a familiar figure in a tree outside the window and his heart stopped. It took too long, far too long, until he realized that it was not Sasuke, but Itachi.

The two of them sat in the exact same way, though Itachi had longer hair. His body was a bit smaller than Sasuke's was now, too, though certainly not lacking in muscle tone. It was as if they were cats, giant black panthers that would as soon kill you as look at you.

"Hurry up, brat!" Kisame snapped.

"Jeez... You'd think we had some place to be."

"You don't keep the Leader waiting!"

"Yeah, yeah."

* * *

The leader of Akatsuki was putting the final marks onto the scroll in front of him when Kisame and the fox's carrier walked in. He ignored them as he finished the work, the brush strokes quick but unhurried as he put the last kanji in place. The scroll was a beautiful one with thick ivory-colored parchment. The calligraphy on it was utterly perfect, each dark kanji and hiragana in the exact place that it should be. It was truly a work of art, but Pein just viewed it with the same black amusement that was his way of responding to everything.

"Hey, why am I here if you're just going to stare at the damn scroll?" the boy grumbled. Pein looked up, red eyes catching Naruto's. The blonde nin was still standing in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest. Kisame was leaning against the wall in the corner a few feet away from him. He wasn't near enough to protect Naruto from killing his leader if he wanted him to, but Pein didn't think that it was likely anyway. "Hello?" Naruto said, arching an eyebrow at him. "Uzumaki Naruto, still here."

Pein turned the scroll so that the Kyuubi's container could see it. The blonde scanned over it briefly, reading the elaborate dark marks easily, despite the calligraphic hand it was written in.

"This looks... like a blood promise."

A wild smirk was flung in Naruto's direction, red eyes narrowing in a feline pleasure. "Exactly. I cannot make any use of you if you are going to tell someone about this base. We're rather fond of our privacy here."

Naruto groaned. "Wow, I never knew. But I want a promise from you, then." Pein had never seen anyone's gaze turn to fire quite as quickly as Naruto's did then. "I want _you_ to give _me_ a promise that you won't kill me before I help Sasuke."

Pein ignored Kisame and Naruto fighting over the proper respect that one should give to Akatsuki's leader, ignored the comments that were flung back and forth between the two, ignored everything.

The Kyuubi's container was rather interesting. He had fire to him that had nothing to do with the fox and everything to do with his own personality, born under the hate of an entire village.

"All right," Pein said. He rested his head on his fist, leaning against his desk in such a way that made Kisame shift Samehada nervously on his shoulder. He had seen this particular look on his leader's face before. "I will write another promise with this one, from me to you, and we will both sign it."

Kisame looked startled. "But—Leader—" He stopped talking at the look that greeted his words, so dangerous and cold that he looked as if he bit his tongue to keep his protest in. Itachi wasn't going to like this either, but the Leader didn't care.

The brush flowed across the paper again, adding the necessary words in swirls of inky writing. He stopped to slice his thumb across one of his razor-sharp canines, letting it drip into the pot of ink. He signed his name, words emblazoned across the paper, then smeared the blood from his thumb on his other fingers. When he pressed them into the paper, his black nails nearly cut through the paper.

"Your turn," he stated, uncapping a new jar of ink. Naruto stepped forward.

* * *

Itachi woke up when the sun was setting. He was not precisely pleased: a day of training had been completely and utterly wasted, after all. Still, it was restful to be back here. It was far too often that he didn't get a full night's sleep.

Still lying against the tree, Itachi gathered his hair into a loose ponytail. As it always did when it was down, it clung to his hands and his face, causing him to push it away as quickly as possible.

"Y'know, it's amazing that you didn't fall out of there."

The fox-boy was squinting up at him from beneath the tree, his hands shoved deep in the pockets of the black pants that he now wore. He looked taller than he actually was from up in the tree, most likely due to the angle, but it was strange nevertheless.

"Ninja do not fall out of trees when they sleep."

"Especially since they have to sleep in uncomfortable positions when on missions and stuff, right?"

Naruto was grinning. It was probably at the look on Itachi's face. It honestly wasn't that much of a facial expression, more of a passing look of mild confusion, but for the older Uchiha it was the best that you would get.

Itachi didn't give Naruto an answer. Such an obvious statement did not deserve one.

"Just so you know, you're the one that's going to be helping me with my jutsu tomorrow. So don't be late!"

When he walked away, Sharingan eyes noticed that his fists were clenched despite everything that he had said. There was another thing as well. Despite having spoken to him of his own free will, Naruto still wouldn't look him in the eyes. Itachi smiled, smug. Not many people would look him in the eyes anymore, anyway. Naruto wasn't any different than everyone else.

Itachi leapt from the tree, heading into the dark corridors of the headquarters and to his room. It wasn't like him to muse for so long on one person, but it wasn't often that he was bothered by anyone, either, and if anything was true it was that Naruto bothered him.

"The Leader signed a blood promise with him," Kisame said, stepping into place beside him.

"What?"

"The Leader signed a blood promise that said he wouldn't kill him. Before he dealt with your precious baby brother, anyway."

Itachi fell silent. He didn't hate his brother. He actually loved him a great deal, or at least he used to. He didn't know whether he felt the same now. Because of this, he wasn't quite sure what to feel concerning this deal. Whatever he felt personally, though, he knew that this wasn't a wise move on Akatsuki's part.

Kisame sighed and, finally fed up with waiting for Itachi to answer, headed toward his room when the hallway split into two. Itachi went into his own room. The walls, covered in black and crimson silk, seemed to glow with the reddish light of the setting sun.

He didn't understand the fox. He didn't understand why he would give up so much for a few mere oaths and ties. Naruto wasn't unique, but Itachi had never met anyone like him before. What that said about Itachi, he didn't know. For what that said about Naruto, he knew even less.

A kunai flashed through the air when Itachi tossed it up into the air and he balanced it on a fingertip when it landed.

"You have a good friend, Sasuke," he said into the empty air.

Friends wouldn't get Sasuke what he wanted. They would help, however, and it was unlikely that someone like Naruto would hinder Sasuke's purpose too greatly.

Itachi smiled, but it was a grim look.

* * *

That night, Naruto slept fitfully. It was starting to seem like that was a commonplace thing. The sheets on the bed were tossed over the side, cascading to the floor in a river of white cotton. The cold of the blankets leaving him was what woke Naruto up.

"Dammit," he swore in the dark, reaching around blindly to pull the blankets back into place. He made a half-hearted attempt to tuck them back in, but his gaze was quickly caught by the view out his window.

The moonlight was bright against the shuriken as they were thrown through the air, again and again, hitting their target every time no matter how obscure the throws or difficult the angle. This time Naruto knew from a glance that it was Itachi and not Sasuke, even though he could barely see him. Sasuke had never been so good with a shuriken, and even if a ninja could be fooled by looks, they couldn't be fooled by something like this.

Itachi moved like quicksilver, his black hair like the ripple of silk against the backdrop of yellowed torch light. He was more fluid than Sasuke, every movement flowing into the next seamlessly.

_'I get that Sasuke wants to kill him for his clan, but to beat someone like him even if it was just for the sake of it... You'd have to be some kind of amazing.'_

Itachi stopped, peering around him through lowered lashes. He probably felt Naruto looking at him, so Naruto ducked quickly and settled back into bed.

* * *

_'I wonder what's got him practicing so late at night.'_ Naruto fell asleep before he could finish the thought.

_The next chapter should be pretty interesting. I've got a couple new things planned and they will probably show up next chapter. If it's not in that one they'll be in the next, but either way, Itachi and Naruto interactions are going to get a minor kick it the butt to get it moving. Do you think it's wrong of me to love the Leader? It's getting so annoying to say that non-name over and over again._

_Anyway, please review and tell me what you think. Or don't, but review either way. Heh!_


	7. Part Seven: Hate Me

**Important Note**: _I've received a couple of questions about this, so I just wanted to clarify one more time that this is indeed an ItaNaru, but it's with NaruSasu hints, as I said in the beginning. No more than I consider canon, actually. The NaruSasu is pretty embedded in the series._

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* * *

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**Sunrise, Sunset: Part Seven**

_Hate Me_

It had been a month since Naruto had disappeared and Konoha's third training ground was torn up, ripped apart, and split into several pieces. Sakura didn't think that anyone would be able to fix it. Konoha might be used to extensive damages due to their ninja inhabitants, but even after the two and a half years of Tsunade they still had trouble dealing with a medic-nin on a rampage.

She shouldn't have lost her temper.

_"He's not dead!"_ she had screamed at Tsunade, her eyes feeling suspiciously hot and moist.

All she had gotten in reply was, "We'll see soon now, one way or another." What kind of answer was that supposed to be?

"Why?" A tree blew apart as her chakra-imbued fist caused it to disintegrate, chunks of bark falling around her and landing in her pink hair. "Why is it always me here all alone?" The ground shook and cracked open she punched it. "They're such idiots! Why do my teammates always go off and _die_?"

The battle with Haku, their first battle with Orochimaru, the fight with Gaara, Sasuke leaving. Each fight was one where her teammates had nearly died and each fight, every single one, was a fight that she had not participated in. Even now, after so much training and hard work, they still left her behind. If Naruto was still alive, if Sasuke was still Sasuke when they got him back, she would never let this happen again. She would never be left behind again.

She could be a stubborn idiot too.

* * *

Naruto dodged yet again, the knees of his black pants now scuffed and dark brown with dirt. His hair was covered in dirt as well, hanging in his eyes and heavy with sweat. He could barely see through it, but he didn't really need to. The shuriken hissing through the air seemed to be abnormally loud, painfully so, and every time they hit him he felt like giving up the exercise and killing the one who had thrown them.

"Let's test your reaction time," Itachi had said. If there had been any doubt in Naruto's mind that he was a sadist, it had disappeared the second the first weapon hit him.

There was nowhere to hide from the shuriken in the hollowed out area of the mountain, but that was the point: to dodge from them, not just to hide from them or knock them aside. As it was, though, he felt like a pincushion.

Throwing shuriken was the first thing that a ninja learned at the academy. They were not a weapon to kill with, but were instead used to distract. Getting hit with them was painful, but it was by no means life-threatening unless you hit someone in the head. With Itachi's aim, unless he wanted to kill, the shuriken would never touch a vital part of Naruto's anatomy. He certainly wasn't being stingy with the non-vital parts, though!

Ninja didn't dodge, normally. They hid in the trees or knocked the weapon aside because to be a ninja was to be indirect. This training, though... it was different. Another shuriken lodged itself in Naruto's arm, tearing through his tanned skin easily.

"Stop."

It was strange to hear Itachi's quiet voice, so much like ice, out under the hot sun. Naruto looked up at him carefully, sweat dripping into his eyes and into one of the stinging cuts on his neck from shuriken he hadn't been able to duck.

"It is hard for you to dodge when you seem to lack the ability to look at me to watch for tells on where I'm throwing them."

Naruto winced; if he didn't know better, he could swear that he had just been told, _"Stop kidding around and just do it, you moron!"_ The Uchiha brothers were way more alike than they knew. Naruto wasn't going to be the one that told Sasuke, though. He rather liked his head where it was.

"Fine, fine. Just don't Sharingan me."

There was the glint of red in Naruto's eyes. It was a disturbing look, but it explained how the marks on the fox's skin kept disappearing just before a new weapon was thrown. Those demon eyes were very similar to the Leader's, blood-hungry and dark, but they were entirely foreign on the face of the ninja who generally seemed to be the most cheery of the entire Konoha bunch.

When Itachi threw a shuriken again, Naruto was finally able to dodge it, dust flying up around him in a cloud.

_'How annoying,'_ Itachi thought mildly, taking another three shuriken from his weapons' pouch. He would need to throw properly now and stop playing. That being said, it was unlikely he would miss again. Itachi had always had a very good aim.

Moving targets were so much more fun than stationary ones. They squealed when hit, after all.

An hour later, Naruto was flat on his back on the ground, eyes closed against the bright sunlight.

"I hate you," he said decidedly. He was sweating heavily, the air so hot and stagnant that it was almost like they were still in the Land of Fire.

Itachi was silent for a moment, looking down on the teenager sprawled in the dirt. The fox's borrowed black clothing was torn practically to shreds and he was covered in blood, but there was not a single cut on his skin.

"Strange. I could have sworn that we had already made that clear."

The blonde grinned up at the sun. "No. I just thought you were a creep for everything you did to Sasuke. _Now_ I hate you."

The way he had phrased it was odd. Itachi studied a dark blue-painted fingernail, thinking. Absently noting a chip in it, he said, "For what I did to my little brother? Not for the clan?"

Naruto gave him an odd look. "I don't know your clan. I mean, it's sad they're dead and all and it's kinda creepy that you knocked them all off. And you're a bastard for doing it. But all those old Konoha clans are really weird and nasty. I mean, look at how the Hyuuga fry each other's brains out. How am I supposed to hate you for doing something like that when I don't even know why you did it? Hell, they could have been beating the kids for all I know! Clans are weird like that. Glad I don't have one," he added, a bit unnecessarily.

Itachi wondered for a brief moment whether he should be offended. He turned around then, wanting to go back inside to bathe. "The Leader has said that you may take a scroll from the library. Choose wisely."

He could feel blue eyes following him until he was out of sight.

* * *

Naruto had never seen Itachi show such an obvious emotion. It was obvious that the older man hadn't even noticed it, to tell the truth. If Itachi had noticed it, he would have been able to cover it.

Itachi's face always looked somewhat dead when he wasn't paying attention to what it was he was doing. The only way you could tell what he was thinking was by his eyes. It made sense. He was an Uchiha and his eyes were his power. It had just been a moment, a very brief moment, when Itachi's eyes had looked so tremendously full of pain.

Naruto didn't like Itachi because of Sasuke, and it was a perfectly valid reason not to like Itachi. Anyone would have said so. Most would have hated Itachi for it, but Naruto had never been predisposed to like most of Konoha's population. So although he disliked Itachi for his former friend's sake, he hadn't hated him for killing his clan.

But did Itachi hate himself?

Naruto got up and went back inside the headquarters, to his room. He was already beginning to think of it as his. That was a good thing, since he would be here for a few months, provided the Leader didn't grow bored of him before then.

If Itachi got his way, Sasuke would kill him. That was what Sasuke had told him that Itachi had said: to hate him, to live on like a coward, to find a way to kill him.

Why kill your clan if you're going to ask your brother to kill you afterward? Why kill your clan at all?

Whatever was bothering Itachi didn't have anything to do with Naruto. All that mattered right now was getting Sasuke back, and Naruto was hungry. All other thoughts disappeared next to the needs of his stomach. A bath, and then lunch. He could do that.

When the two brothers had met for that first time after Itachi had killed the Uchiha clan, in the hall of that inn, that same look had flashed through Sasuke's eyes. It was a pain so unbearable that it spun out of control in the wheels of Sharingan eyes, spinning so wildly it looked like it was ready to tear its bearer apart.

If only Sasuke and Itachi weren't so damn similar.

* * *

_Sorry for the short length, but I thought it was necessary, even though I hate this chapter so, so much because this fic is totally after my blood with all the rewrites. I'll try to get the next chapter out quicker as a consolation prize._


	8. Part Eight: Of Food and Jutsu

_As promised, a longer chapter of much better quality in a shorter amount of time. Go me! I wanted to post it last night, but the site wouldn't work. It was written out entirely by hand for once before I typed it up. I realized half-way through the first page that I didn't have the slightest clue how Tobi should act, much less how Deidara acts with Tobi, and had to BS my way through it. If you can, tell me how I did?_

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* * *

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**Sunrise, Sunset: Part Eight**

_Of Food and Jutsu_

Lunch with the Akatsuki was really very quiet. No one ate at the same time; Naruto wasn't really all that confident that the Leader and Itachi ate to begin with. Perhaps the Sharingan copied food into Itachi's stomach so that there was no need to do something as undignified as eating, and the Leader... he was just so frightening that it was hard to imagine him eating anything besides babies and blood.

Naruto found himself alone for the first time since leaving Konoha. Nighttime in his room didn't count because all he had been doing then was sleeping and preparing to sleep. At all other times a member of Akatsuki had either been right next to him or very close by. To be alone after little less than a month in the constant company of one person or another was startling, and while Naruto was waiting for his ramen to cook he actually felt a bit lonely. This feeling was not to last. As he peeled back the lid of the ramen cup he had discovered hidden in the back of one cupboard, shoved behind some rather dull kunai, he heard a startled yelp.

"Oi, Tobi! I think Konaha's infiltrated us and sent the blonde twerp to do it!"

Looking up amongst the steam rising from the cup, blue eyes met Naruto's upturned gaze with amusement. "Shouldn't you be dead already, kyuubi-boy? What the heck are you doing eating Tobi's ramen?" the blonde member of Akatsuki asked.

"My ramen?" came a sorrowful voice. "I was so hungry, too..."

"Hey, I was hungry and I got to it first! You can go out and buy some more if you're that hungry."

"But why are you _here_?" Deidara tried again.

"It takes so long to get to a town," Tobi said mournfully, completely ignoring his partner. "Give me some of yours?"

Naruto looked at him suspiciously, also ignoring Tobi's partner. "How much?"

"Would you two shut up about the damn ramen already?"

He was, once again, paid no attention to as the masked Tobi crouched beside Naruto's chair, his hands patiently, almost childishly, folded in his lap. "Just a little bit, I promise."

"All right, I guess. Get a dish."

Naruto heard Deidara "hmph-ed" loudly in frustration, one of his hands sneaking into the pouch full of clay at his waist. "It's really Tobi's fault for being so annoying...," he thought he heard Deidara mutter.

"You remember what the Leader said. Not while you're in the headquarters."

Deidara jumped. "U-uchiha!" He scowled. "How is it that you managed to perfect the art of sneaking up on even S-class nin? You're such a freak." He said the last very, very quietly. He probably didn't want Itachi to kill him, after all.

"Hi Uchiha-san!" Tobi said cheerfully, spooning Naruto's ramen very quickly into a bowl. Although his face wasn't visible beyond his orange mask it was clear that he was smiling widely.

"That's more than 'just a little'!"

"Well, it was mine to begin with, Uzumaki-san."

"So," Deidara said impatiently, "why is the fox-boy here and still fox-intact?" His hand reached up to nervously coil a strand of hair around his finger when Itachi's rather irritated red eyes turned to look at him.

"You would have to ask the Leader. Apparently he and the boy worked out some sort of a deal."

Deidara grinned impudently. "Nah... you call him a boy but you're really only a few years older than him, Uchiha. Though you certainly wouldn't think so with how much like an old man you are." Itachi's eyes narrowed. Deidara flinched. "But hey, I'm just saying. Don't take it so seriously. Hmph."

"What am _I_ supposed to eat now?"

"I left you some."

"Is 'some' a teaspoon-full in your book? I'm hungry!"

"He's so loud!" Deidara complained. "He gets Tobi going, too. I'm going to talk to the Leader."

"He's studying."

"I'm going to eat lunch and _then_ talk to the Leader. Once he's finished."

"Is Deidara-san a coward?" Tobi asked innocently. While Deidara spluttered out threats, Naruto looked at Tobi admiringly.

"I think I like you."

* * *

It was some hours later when Naruto could finally get directions to the library. Kisame didn't even know where it was. Neither did Deidara, who had gone off to see if the Leader was safe to approach and who Naruto wouldn't have asked anyway. Itachi had disappeared again, so once Tobi was done slurping noodles through his mask skillfully enough to make Kakashi jealous, Naruto had asked him.

The library was filled with soft florescent lights. The shelves were piled high with books and scrolls that had no particular order as far as Naruto could see. They all appeared to be old but well-kept and they took up most of the space in the extremely large room. A few chairs had somehow been squeezed in as a concession to comfort and a low table was in the corner, loaded with scrolls.

Naruto could hardly keep from drooling. He moved from one shelf to the next, almost in a daze from the feelings of utter lust this library inspired in him. This was Akatsuki: they probably stole, bribed, and bought the most secret and powerful jutsu scrolls in existence and if there was one thing Naruto could do it was teach himself impossible jutsu through sheer perseverance. It was what he had done all his life and he obviously didn't need to stop now.

"There are so many! Where should I even start?" Naruto mused aloud. He was surprised when he received an answer.

"Each shelf is classified by type. For your purpose, I'd advise the soul transference and binding scrolls. It would aid you considering Orochimaru's specialties."

"Eh?"

It was the leader, his dark red eyes overflowing with wry humor. The smile stretched over his lips didn't make Naruto feel particularly secure in his ability to live through the next few seconds.

"Hey! Don't sneak up on me like that! It's freaky."

"You are aware that this is my library you are in?" the Leader asked with a raised brow. He turned, picking up a scroll from the shelf. "You mortal children have no appreciation."

Naruto blinked. The Leader appeared to be leaving without another word. "Uh, Leader?"

"Address me properly or not at all, brat."

The tone was as mild as the Leader's voice ever became, so Naruto decided not to fear for his life just yet. "Does that mean I should call you by your name? I saw it on the scroll when you signed it, you know." He received a look. "Hehehe... guess not. That Deidara guy was looking for you."

"I know." He left.

Naruto stuck out his tongue at the man's back. "'No appreciation' blah blah blah. Hypocrite!"

"I _have_ ears."

"And I'm glad you know how to use them," Naruto replied. Nevertheless, his next comments were going to be made so much more quietly, perhaps even mentally. The older he became the more he wished he had better control over his tongue, and now was one of those moments when his desire became vast indeed.

Trying to regain his former sense of excitement, Naruto began scanning the shelves.

* * *

The sunlight against Naruto's eyelids woke Naruto the next morning. He was lying flat against the floor, his shoulder digging uncomfortably into the nightstand. Naruto groaned. He had passed out while working on a new jutsu, again. In his academy days, when he was still learning the Codes of Conduct, history, and other paper-bound subjects, he had just fallen asleep while working. Now he passed out due to chakra expenditure. Such was the way of the shinobi.

Groaning again when he sat up, Naruto rolled his head so that his neck cracked. He wished quite fervently that he had chosen a place to practice further away from the bed, where he couldn't get all scrunched up beside something. Staggering through the doorway and through halls, he managed just barely managed to find his way into the kitchen. His stomach was screaming to be fed and his brain kept interjecting that some coffee or tea wouldn't be a bad idea either. Naruto decided to blame his headache on Sasuke, as he had also decided to do with things like war, famine, and drought. The bastard deserved it.

"Heh, fox-boy looks like a zombie in the morning!" Deidara said, feet swinging back and forth from his perch on the counter. Naruto wrinkled his nose irritably at the man and opened the refrigerator, wishing there was ramen. Ramen solved all problems.

"Coffee?" Tobi asked brightly, gesturing towards the full pot. Though he put his mug to his mask and coffee disappeared, Naruto didn't have the slightest clue how he was doing it.

"Sure. Thanks."

Naruto put some bread in the toaster. If Itachi was going to run him around again he would prefer not to have a full stomach, so it would only be toast, too.

Deidara appeared to be sulking at being ignored. He played with his pale hair quietly, almost appearing docile. "You know that Leader is just playing with you, don't you?" he asked.

Naruto smiled. "Of course." He blew gently on the hot coffee Tobi had given him before taking a sip. "I'm not stupid."

Kisame snorted loudly at that, announcing his presence to the room.

"Why does everyone always think that it's funny when I say that?" Naruto whined, though his blue eyes laughed. "Why, why, why?"

"Because it is, brat. Were you going to make breakfast?"

Deidara's eyes fastened on Naruto in the same moment Tobi's mask turned in the same direction, making the total of people staring hungrily at him three. "He can cook? Maybe the Leader _did_ have ulterior motives."

Naruto was beginning to feel very, very nervous when Tobi set down his cup slowly and deliberately. He couldn't be blamed for being scared after that. Even if Tobi's face wasn't visible, Deidara's and Kisame's were. Naruto had never known sharks could drool like that.

"You guys are pathetic! If you're really that hungry, why don't you learn to cook? It's not like it's that hard. Or are you lazy too?"

Tobi placed a restraining hand on a seething Deidara's arm. "I can go get some ramen for you later! You'd make us food for ramen, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah! Ramen! So what do you guys want?"

As the requests were filed in, the thought entered Naruto's mind, holding some degree of bemusement, that he wasn't even that good of a cook. Akatsuki must be desperate for real food. Still, he started to make everything. The things he did for ramen….

An hour later, already late for his meeting with Itachi, Naruto finally arrived on the training grounds. Itachi didn't call him out for it and Naruto wasn't the kind to needlessly apologize, especially for something that was, in a roundabout way, Itachi's fault. If Itachi had agreed to feed the others then they wouldn't be so starved for decent food.

"Let's begin," was all Itachi said.

Naruto grinned and nodded, hands clasped behind his head. He met Itachi's eyes this time dead-on, without fear, without hate.

* * *

_Next chapter continues pretty directly off the end of this one, complete with more ItaNaru action (but unfortunately, not the Good with a capital G kind.) Jeez, my love for the Leader is causing me serious problems plot-wise. Maybe if he actually ate babies it would make me hate him? No... I would probably rationalize it._

_Anyway, if at all possible, can you review me and tell me how my characterization for Deidara and Tobi was? I'm holding doubts about it. Not serious doubts, but I wanna be sure. So please review and tell me what you think of the chapter!_


	9. Part Nine: Weight of the World

_Oh. My. God. Canon Naruto shonen-ai! Manga scan... go look at it! I uploaded a pic into my livejournal, the link's in the website portion of my bio._

_Yes, I am aware that this it's been two weeks since the last chapter. Yes, I'm aware this chapter is short. I really, really needed a break! But aside from that, I now have a beanie-baby racoon and a beanie-baby fox- I have decided to call them Gaara and Naruto. I am obsessed. Oh, and I found a manga pic of the Leader that really supports my theories about him. Hehehe._

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* * *

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**Sunrise, Sunset: Part Nine**

_Weight of the World_

A kunai whistled through the air at Naruto, who dodged it easily. He rocked back on his heels with a grin, blue eyes defiant. "Is that all you got? Maybe you're losing your touch."

"Perhaps we should work on whatever jutsu you took from the library," Itachi suggested evenly. Naruto's humor was something that he did not appreciate, no matter how "interesting" the Leader thought that it was.

Naruto scratched the back of his head ruefully. "Oh, that? Was I supposed to make it last? I suppose I could have tried less hard last night... Anyway, I totally nailed it. Got any others?"

Itachi looked completely impassive, but he was silent for several moments longer than he normally would have been. The Akatsuki library had only A-Class and S-Class scrolls. It didn't take Itachi any than Naruto to master one of them, though it depended on the scroll. He was more than surprised that someone like Naruto could figure one out in less than a day when Itachi, at least, used his Sharingan to memorize the words so he wouldn't have to keep looking back at it.

"Which scroll did you choose?"

Practically bouncing where he stood, Naruto said eagerly, "Well, see, the Leader-guy said that one of the soul transference or sealing jutsu would be the best, so I took a scroll that turned out to be kinda like those Yamanaka Mind-Transfer Jutsu. Except you don't go into another person's mind and shut them down and stuff, you sorta put a piece of your mind into an object." He smiled widely. "If I can manage to make the object move with my chakra and keep track of what I'm doing at the same time, I can totally whip Sasuke and Orochimaru without even blinking."

Itachi knew about the jutsu that Naruto was talking about, the Object-Mind Transfer Jutsu. He had never learned it because he had never seen the point, especially when one knew the Shadow Clone Jutsu and didn't need to rely on that sort of petty trick for reinforcements, but he had glanced over the scroll once. Knowing how difficult it was, he was, against all odds, starting to feel the slightest touch of respect for Naruto. Though Naruto's skills for planning ahead did appear somewhat lacking.

"How exactly could such a jutsu take down my little brother?"

The word choice had not been a wise one: calling Sasuke his little brother had reminded Naruto exactly who he was talking. "_Se_-cret," he said, still smiling despite his veiled eyes. Itachi studied him for a moment before looking away. Naruto wasn't going to tell.

"Choose another scroll." Naruto brightened, but he looked confused when he realized Itachi was following him. "I'm going with you." He wanted to know which one Naruto chose. If the fox kept choosing hard scrolls like that one and rushing the learning in one night, even if he was a genius like Itachi he would still break down or even die. Though that would solve many of Itachi's problems, he was willing to bet it would make Sasuke even angrier with him. Which was redundant, since the Leader was the one that wanted Naruto here, not Itachi.

Unfortunately, Sasuke wouldn't be likely to think that far ahead.

* * *

It was on their way out of the library that they met with the Leader. His sudden appearance was quite startling, and where Naruto actually jumped back, Itachi managed to avoid anything other than a slight flinch.

"What is it with you people and being all sneaky?" Naruto linked his hands behind his head, trying to calm his racing heart with seeming nonchalance. Fierce crimson eyes laughed at him.

"I want to look at the seal of the Nine-Tailed Fox." The words were said plainly and honestly instead of with the trickery that could have accompanied them. Naruto appreciated that, truly.

"No." He saw Itachi shift his weight back out of the corner of his eye so that he was as far away from his Leader as possible. It was good for a shinobi to be cautious. Naruto realized that, it just wasn't in his nature. "You'll be able to do something freaky with it and kill me or unleash the Kyuubi or something and since it won't be direct it won't violate the deal."

A fine red eyebrow arched. "Interesting, but no, I'm afraid not. The seal is imbedded into your chakra. It would be impossible to remove it without killing you."

Naruto huffed loudly. "Well, then, why do you want to see it?"

The Leader rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly, fingers gliding over the ball-ends of his bridge-piercings. "I wish to study it. I know the original jutsu, but this one was modified in a unique way for its purpose."

"And you just want to study it and not use it for evil."

"It sounds like you don't believe me. Why am I not surprised? If I used it, it would kill me. Why else would the Fourth be dead when he succeeded in his purpose?"

The grin that split Naruto's face was almost comical. Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, he said, "Okay, you've got a point. It probably wouldn't hurt too much to look at it. For a second. In which you don't put a creepy seal like Orochimaru did around the fox's seal. Are you sure you're not going to do something evil?"

The answering smile was not in the least comforting. "Of course I am. It shouldn't harm you, the Uchiha boy, or Konoha though."

"You're a scary man."

Naruto fell into step behind the Leader, Itachi following _him_ without a word, and he muttered under his breath, "Though you probably just want to rub your creepy hands all over my stomach like everyone else."

The Leader started laughing. "Don't worry. I have absolutely no ulterior motives to want to touch your belly-button, Uzumaki."

* * *

It felt so strange to be nearly free of Orochimaru. The castle had been so unpleasant at times, full of the Sannin's experiments and his minions. Sasuke could do what he had always wanted to do now that he had killed the weakened Orochimaru. He would start searching for Itachi, picking up jutsu along the way until his powers could rival those of his brother's.

"Will you stop brooding, Uchiha-san? Your non-expression irks me." Suigetsu's voice was far too grating for Sasuke's taste, but the man would make a strong companion and, as Sasuke had said to him when they had first met, they wouldn't have to get along to work together.

"Are you _sure_ we have to pick up those two?"

"Why do you always whine?" Sasuke snapped.

The other man snorted at him in response, crossing his arms over his chest. Sasuke sighed and wondered what Suigetsu would do if he realized that Orochimaru wasn't quite dead, as he had assumed. After all, Naruto got an extra passenger. There was no reason why Sasuke shouldn't have one too, despite how unwanted said "passenger" might be.

"Can't you go any faster? If we have to get those idiots I want to get them quickly."

Sasuke was being reminded, strongly, of another teammate who had whined. It was unfortunate that it didn't appear likely Suigetsu would change. Sasuke sped up and imagined tossing Suigetsu near a fire and seeing if he would steam like the water he could turn into at will. Imagining tossing Suigetsu anywhere was actually very soothing.

Karin and Juugo were the next he wanted to pick up for his team, and then they would be able to do what Sasuke wanted to do. He was not going to be held back with the losers anymore.

* * *

Itachi was practicing again late at night. The weapons swished through the air, thudded into the target, and were brought back by the flicker of motion from a strong, pale hand. He was good at it, but Naruto had known that before he had begun watching. Instead of actually paying attention to what he was doing, he appeared to be deep in thought. The motions of throwing and retrieving seemed to be more of a meditation than anything else; it was obvious that Itachi had no need for the practice.

Watching him was soothing as well. The light wavered against his long hair, which Naruto could see nearly reached the small of his back when he turned. Every move that he made was smooth and practiced, but looked graceful instead of rehearsed. There was only so much that Naruto could see in the dark, but it seemed like more emotions crossed Itachi's face here, in this private black place where all that existed was the swish and thud of kunai, than they did in the light of day.

Back in Konoha, they had been getting so nervous about letting Naruto leave the village. They were so worried about the Nine-Tailed Fox somehow getting loose or stolen by the Akatsuki, and here Naruto was, stolen by the Akatsuki and feeling more free than he had in some time.

He dropped his head onto his arms, folded against the window sill. The thought was a heavy one and brought Naruto into sleep as he watched Itachi mechanically loose a kunai at the target.

An even heavier thought, perhaps, was that he was starting to like Itachi. It wasn't much, but it was there and it added to the weight. Naruto slept badly that night.

* * *

_You know, the "se-cret" doesn't exactly work if it's not in Japanese (which is "hi-mi-tsu" I think), but I had to do it. It begged me to, honest! In terms of Itachi's jutsu-learning abilties, the Sharingan can only copy jutsu or motions that it sees. I figured that any scroll learning Itachi would have to do himself, but since he graduated from the Academy so young, he's also smart enough to not really need the Sharingan to be amazing. Oh, and Suigetsu, Karin, and Juugo are canon, just in case you haven't seen Shippuden. I wish I knew what color hair/eyes were. S'not fair... Review and make me feel better!_


	10. Part Ten: The Things We Learn

_I use the word "senpai" in this chapter because it isn't all that easy to translate into English, especially in the context it's used. It means person superior in school, working environment, etc., sometimes translated to "upperclassman," but that isn't really correct because it's so hard to translate it._

_In other news, the annoying anime changed the Leader's eye color! They're fricking gray now! Fortunately, they are still the proper shape and style for my theories to work either way. The manga is probably closer to the truth anyway._

_

* * *

_

**Sunrise, Sunset: Part Ten**

_The Things We Learn_

A new day led to another breakfast where Naruto was scrounging around the Akatsuki kitchen, looking for food. Looking, but not finding. It was strange to think of a member of Akatsuki shopping for food, but it was clear that shopping was indeed what needed to be done. Heaving a sigh, Naruto opened the refrigerator. It was mostly empty except for an expired carton of milk and a few containers of food. There was a note propped up against the container's top. Naruto picked it up, scanning over the words briefly.

_Up for grabs._

Naruto tapped a finger meditatively against his lips. He had thought that no one in Akatsuki cooked, so why was perfectly good-looking food sitting in the fridge with the words, "up for grabs," near it?

"Ooh! Itachi left us food again!"

Naruto banged his head against the inside of the refrigerator. "Ouch!"

He backed away from and straightened to stare at Tobi, who was paying absolutely no attention to Naruto's actions and taking food out of the refrigerator with all appearances of happiness. Deidara came in just a few seconds later, snatching the food immediately from Tobi and holding it over his head. "Respect your senpai, brat," he said, waving the container a bit.

"Aww, you just want it for yourself," Tobi whined, a pout in his voice.

Udon, Naruto noted from his view of the clear plastic bottom of the dish. Yummy, delicious udon noodles in what seemed to be a sauce. It was probably just vaguely spicy, with lots of vegetables... maybe even chicken...

"Give it here! I saw it first!" Naruto made a mad grab toward the dish and the blonde Akatsuki leapt back, turning up his nose with an expression that was by no means amused.

"How very unartistic," he said, eyeing Naruto as if he were a bug that desperately needed to be squashed. While he was doing this, Tobi was sneaking up behind him. If Tobi got the noodles, he might share.

"Whatever." Naruto stuck his thumbs through his belt loops, nonchalant. "I thought that Kisame said that Itachi didn't share or something."

Light blue eyes rolled expressively as their owner continued to hold the food in the air. "Jeez, Kisame is dumb sometimes. Itachi will feed us as long as he can pass it off as him making too much or that he's gotten sick of it." He grinned and Naruto saw Tobi creep ever closer. "Uchiha is such a baby. Well, either that or he really doesn't care, 'cause I—" He screeched suddenly when he realized that he was no longer holding the food. Tobi grinned.

"Come on, Uzumaki-san," Tobi said, leaving the room at a dead run with Deidara following. "I have bowls in my room for when Deidara doesn't share." Naruto was laughing when he started running after them, Deidara's curses echoing through the halls. The two of them nearly slammed into the doorway before they closed the door, slamming it behind them.

Tobi laughed, setting the food he had grabbed on the small table to the left of the door and diving down to root under the bed to try and find the dishes he had mentioned. "Deidara does this a lot," he confided. "I think he must have been an only child."

Naruto laughed as well. "You really don't _act_ like a big, bad member of Akatsuki. I actually like you, for one, and I tend to express my opinion pretty loudly if I _don't_ like you."

Black-clad shoulders shrugged, or at least Naruto assumed that was what the extra wiggle was as Tobi headed further under the bed. "I don't remember anything before I entered Akatsuki," the masked shinobi said cheerfully. "I have a whole bunch of scars, though. The Leader said that for every mission I get right he'll make a couple of them go away. I've only got a couple more missions left to go before he has fixed all of them."

"Huh." Naruto crouched down beside him, pushing away all other thoughts other than the growling in his stomach. "Is there a black hole under there or something? I want food!"

* * *

"What are your intentions with Uzumaki Naruto?"

Although Itachi's words were cool, impersonal, Pein still raised his brow. "You almost sound like an interested party, Itachi. Careful, careful."

Itachi's face didn't change a whit, nor did he move as he watched the movements of the red-headed man with calm crimson eyes. He stood there expecting an answer, not demanding it and yet knowing that if he waited it would be given to him. Pein studied him for several long moments, the dark grin fading from his face. Itachi seemed more pristine than usual, which generally meant that he was brooding. There was an impenetrable quality to him then, as if he was made of frosted glass. The Leader was not just anyone to be fooled by this façade, though.

"Are you afraid that your brother will think we've kept Naruto here for a long, drawn-out torture?" Cat-like red eyes, a match for Itachi's own but far more wild, narrowed. "You have a hole in your reasoning. I thought that your baby brother had expressed nothing but a lack of feelings for Naruto, Itachi."

"It was not my intention to spare my younger brother any feelings of pain or unease," Itachi said swiftly. "Naruto is a distraction. He keeps our goals from being realized by deterring us from our motive."

"The Tailed Beasts are not motives; they are means." Itachi stiffened at the warning hiss that was in that low voice. "You go beyond your place to presume my intentions, Itachi. I know what I'm doing and have been doing it for longer than you and that brat Deidara have put together."

"Did Deidara speak to you, then? I thought he was too afraid."

Pein settled himself, starting to smile again. It was not sane, happy, or civilized, but it was an expression that for him expressed some sort of normalcy in word and action. Itachi's even voice had just a hint of snideness and it amused him.

"Deidara gathered his courage," the Leader said with finality. "Ask me again on the matter of Uzumaki Naruto in another few weeks, Itachi. Then we'll see if you get your answer."

Itachi turned at the obvious dismissal and Pein watched him leave. Itachi walked with a grace beyond that of a normal shinobi, bred and drilled into him by his clan ever since he was born. He was nobility at its height and as leader of Akatsuki, Pein almost mourned the loss of the clan. He did not, though, for he believed mourning to be a useless time in which nothing was accomplished. He believed in action; perhaps he and Naruto were similar in that respect.

He drew further back into the shadows of his study, hiding himself from the attention of his team and anyone else that might care to look at him. His eyes were the only thing that was visible, almost glowing in the dark with a light that went beyond normal means.

The problem, the one that he was not willing to divulge to Itachi at this time or any time in the future, was that he wasn't entirely sure what he wanted to do with Naruto either. He knew what he wanted, in the end, and he knew what his team wanted. He just didn't know how to get there. Yet so much rested on the shoulders of one fifteen-year-old boy who had the face of the Yondaime and a demon fox sealed inside of him.

Pein's dark red eyes grew heavy, then closed. Unhindered by the light that had been in those eyes, the dark conquered the room. That was all right. The Leader liked the dark.

He was woken roughly forty-five minutes later by the slight pop of a summon appearing in previously unoccupied air. It the one he called most often, a young female. It was strange that she was back so soon when she should have been gathering reports from Hidan and Kakuzu.

"What is it?"

She snorted at him, twitching her gorgeous two tails. "I'm reporting back, my lord. The news has reached me that Orochimaru has been defeated by that Uchiha brat and the sibs volunteered me to be the one to tell you."

Pein was silent for a long moment, thinking.

"Does anyone else know?"

She hmphed. "I might have told Hidan and that other one, but there were some complications and a couple of people died, so no one else knows."

She noticed that his long, pointed nails were digging into his hand only when she smelled the blood. She did not say anything that might ruin his veneer of serenity only because she knew better. "Tell no one, and tell your siblings to do the same," he ordered, his tone as composed as she had ever heard it.

"What about the rest of Akatsuki?"

"Tell no one. Now, what were you saying about Hidan and Kakuzu?"

* * *

It was a rare thing to find the Leader outside in the broad daylight, yet it was in the middle of the training ground that he had decided to place himself, right between Itachi's kunai and Naruto's punch. All he did was give them a vague smile when both went spinning off direction, mysteriously choosing to redirect themselves to the nearest tree. Needless to say, Naruto was not happy when he was shaking his hand gingerly to ease the pain.

"Kakuzu is dead. Hidan may very well be, also."

Deidara managed to fall from his seat even though he was sitting on the ground; an admirable feat. "What? How did that happen?"

The Leader sighed. "Team Shikamaru and Team Kakashi. The fools seemed to be late picking up the information that Naruto was with us and not with Konoha, a fact that I'm sure raised a few eyebrows in the village. They were _personally_ killed by Shikamaru and Sakura, respectively, though my sources tell me that Hidan may have survived."

Naruto snickered. "Go Shikamaru and Sakura." He was given three unamused looks. "What?" the blue-eyed ninja asked, wide-eyed. "I'm just saying!"

The Leader's red eyes became thoughtful. "You might be less pleased to learn that your friend Shikamaru's instructor, one of the Third's sons, was killed."

Naruto's smile disappeared as if it had never been on his face, or indeed anywhere near it. The look he had on his face then made Itachi stare, narrow-eyed and uneasy. "Dammit!" he exclaimed. "Couldn't you guys have a better relay service?"

"Considering that your life is still being lived because of our charity, I think that you will need to make due." His long black robe swept through the dust as the Leader turned and headed back into the building. "Tell the others what I have told you. I will be in my study."

Deidara winced. "Leader's pissed," he muttered. "I hope he remembers that Tobi and I have to leave soon, even though he's all huffy."

"Naruto, please repeat to my associate what I told you as I was leaving the library."

"Your Leader-guy's got ears and they work," Naruto grumbled, distracted. "I'm not a message boy, y'know."

He was scowling, though, and his blue eyes had darkened and filled with anger. Even more importantly, the whisker marks on his cheeks had widened. Itachi noted all of this, just as he noted the blood dripping from Naruto's chin from his bitten lip, just as he noted the clawed fists clenching.

Naruto was not just upset; he was grieving. If he was not grieving for the man Asuma himself, then he was grieving for the students that had known the man far better than he had. Unlike Naruto, Itachi did not become unhappy when he heard the news. He did not, actually, feel much at all. Naruto's expression disturbed him, though, which the older man did not appreciate.

"Come. I wish to see how good your control is when you are using the Kyuubi's chakra."

It was better to get out the anger now rather than later, when they were sleeping and as vulnerable as a shinobi ever became. The untamed grin on Naruto's face said that he knew exactly what Itachi was doing and that he didn't care.

* * *

Sasuke had never really looked at those that Orochimaru had experimented on. He had never seen into their hungry eyes, he had never noticed their pinched and starving faces. He was not pleased by what he saw, though he knew there was really nothing that he could do about despite the fact that he was at the moment essentially filling Orochimaru's position. Those were not shoes that Sasuke had ever expected, or indeed wanted, to fill.

Suigetsu was complaining loudly that Sasuke was being mean and doing his brooding thing again and Karin was sniping back at him, her words quick and snide. It reminded him another two people that had once been part of his team. The dynamic was familiar, and against Sasuke's wishes, it comforted him. It had been a long time since he had felt anything like that familiarity.

This land was beautiful, wet and green with large glistening bodies of water and dark swamps. It was something that Sasuke noted only absently and from the corners of his eyes, since beauty was a thing that did not concern him in the least and was therefore not worth musing upon.

"Sasuke-kun," Karin said, suddenly cloyingly sweet. "Sasuke-kun, what are you thinking about? Suigetsu keeps whining, so maybe we should stop."

"I haven't been whining about the _road_, idiot! Nobody ever listens to me!"

"We're not stopping, no matter whether you are tired or not, Karin," Sasuke said sharply, ignoring the woman's indignant spluttering. Then the look appeared; the adoring "no matter how much you beat me down I'll only admire how strong you are when you do it" look.

There were, unfortunately, more than a few similarities between this team and his old one.

He thought that he had killed any feelings other than hate a long time ago, yet he was still feeling these things. The self-loathing that he couldn't do more for the prisoners, the annoyance toward Karin and Suigetsu, and the ache of memory that their actions spurred in him. There was a darker edge to the way that they acted, however, and maybe that would hold them together long enough for Sasuke's ends. Maybe that darker edge was what growing up meant, and that was yet another lesson that Sasuke had never wanted to learn.

* * *

To redeyedevil, because your email address wouldn't work (and anyone else who cares): _When the ItaNaru comes in honestly depends on how the pacing of the relationship goes. I never plan out too far ahead because if I do then the quality of the writing goes down the tube, but if had to put a date on it I'd say about three or four chapters. More likely three. So pretty soon, ne? It might be less if I can manage to make the chapters longer. The ItaNaru is actually important to the Plot (capitalization intended), so it has to happen sooner or later unless I plan on having the fic be really long. Which wouldn't be so bad, except I've been neglecting my original work and that is a big no-no._

_Sorry for super-long delays in chapter writing. I would have updated last night, except that I forgot I turned the computer off. It's a bit longer, though! Awesome, ne? Please review and tell me what you think._


	11. Part Eleven: Oddities

_Boy, this chapter was fun. I got to play around with Itachi, whose point of view is always convoluted and awesome at the same time. Kisame was fun too. I missed their bickering. We get ever closer to the ItaNaru and I get to repress fangirl squealing. On the bright side, I think I found out how to not kill the Leader, plot-wise. Which is good, because I love him so much._

**Sunrise, Sunset: Part Eleven**

_Oddities_

Naruto, Itachi noted with no small amount of dissatisfaction, was stronger than him. At the very least he was as powerful as Itachi was without the Tsukuyomi, which of course could not be used during training. With one tail and his own chakra, enough of his reasoning intact to make plans and follow through with finesse of a seasoned ninja, Naruto was nearly unbeatable.

That was why it didn't make sense to Itachi that Naruto would bother to stay at the Akatsuki's base. The contract that he had made with the Leader didn't have any conditions about staying, from what Itachi had managed to get the Leader to tell him. The amount of skill that Naruto had made it so it wasn't the ninja of Akatsuki keeping him there, so what was? There was Sasuke, of course, but there was no real reason why Naruto would throw his life to Akatsuki just to retrieve Itachi's brother. That left Itachi with holes in his knowledge, something that had never sat well with him.

Yet if there was one thing about Naruto that you could admire—and Itachi did indeed admire it, if in a removed and somewhat distant fashion—it was his loyalty. That was why Itachi let the fight continue even as he was being pushed back, slowly but surely, until he was pressed against the mountain with rock digging into his back, fangs bared against his throat as a pair of confused blue eyes blinked up at him.

Itachi was released abruptly. He dusted off his clothing irritably, watching Naruto rub the back of his head sheepishly. "Ah, sorry." Yet again, he refused to meet Itachi's eyes. Itachi found that immensely irritating.

"Yes." Noncommittal, the word only made Naruto look more confused. He looked less pointlessly upset and furious, though, and Itachi felt his irritation leave him.

"What are you guys doing?" Itachi's gaze flitted over briefly to note Kisame's broad figure standing in the middle of the entrance from the mountain, leaning heavily on his large sword.

"What do you mean what are we doing, eel-for-brains? We're training. Where've you been, anyway? Get lost while swimming with the fishes?"

"Brat. I was on a mission."

"Ah, so you were making other people swim with the fishes. Freaky water jutsu stuff. Did one of them accidentally swallow one of your cousins? I hear that trout are in season."

"Do you have to work to be that stupid or does it come naturally?"

Itachi left. Kisame would be a good enough distraction for Naruto now and there was no doubt that neither of them would even notice that he was gone. Itachi also was willing to bet that Kisame had failed to report to the Leader that he was back, so Itachi would need to do that as well. At least he had deterred Naruto from feeling the urge to slit his friend's killers in the throat in the middle of the night.

It was odd, though. For some reason, Itachi believed that he wouldn't do that anyway.

* * *

Sakura's green eyes watched as Iruka paced back and forth. Her old teacher had been on edge and even more irritable than normal ever since Naruto had gone missing, but he had never been quite like this. He was nearly frantic, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. Sakura watched them fidgeting with a kunai, playing with the zipper on his vest, rumpling the fabric of his shirt.

"Are you sure you can't tell us what's going on, Iruka-sensei? Why Tsunade-sama called us here?"

"No," Iruka said sharply. His brown eyes glanced off of her when he paced by, as if she wasn't even there.

The pink-haired kunoichi turned toward Kakashi to ask him if he knew what was going on, but she found her other sensei with his nose buried in the new piece of "pornographical wonder" that Naruto had given to him just nine weeks before. He had been reading that damn book ever since the news had come that Sasuke had gotten rid of Orochimaru but wasn't coming back. Sakura thought she understood why he was being more infuriating than normal, but she still didn't like it.

The door opened and Tsunade came through. She was a loud presence to someone as sensitive to chakra as Sakura was. She was a loud presence to anyone who saw her, actually, especially now. The Fifth Hokage, Princess Tsunade, was angry. Furious, really. Sakura immediately stood at attention, resisting the urge to inch backward since her back was already at the wall. She saw Kakashi eyeing the window, as if to gauge whether he could make a break for it. She had always known he was smarter than he often appeared.

"Sasuke is going after Itachi." To her credit, Sakura managed to resist the urge to say, "wow, _really_?" She only managed to stop herself from the look on Tsunade's face. "I want you to head him off and bring him back. The Kazekage has asked for the Sand to be allowed to help with this mission and once you meet with them Jiraiya will be able to tell you where he thinks Itachi is."

Sakura saw Sai grin; always a disturbing sight. Her other teammate was standing on Kakashi's other side, his expression as hopelessly strange as usual. Hopelessly strange was a good description for him, as anyone who had heard him open his mouth would likely agree.

"Isn't there something else, Hokage-sama?" Sai asked, almost innocently. Over time, Sakura had learned that Sai was never really innocent. That insufferable grin was still on his face and his eyes had some sort of demonic glee in them.

Tsunade coughed. It was an embarrassed cough, Sakura thought. "Jiraiya thinks that Naruto is still alive."

Those were the words that were guaranteed to get her the attention of everyone in the room, the words that had their gaze plastered to her for reasons other than her curvaceous form. Despite the flurry of discussion that followed, the only that would count when their thoughts had settled was "why?"

* * *

Naruto had watched Itachi leave the training ground with a great deal of confusion. He had hoped that once Kisame left the training would continue. Jutsu work and using the Nine-Tailed's chakra was all well and good, but one became boring after a while and the other wore him out at incredibly quick pace. Neither was particularly likely to keep him in good physical condition, which was one of the things he desperately needed at the moment.

After he had managed to send Kisame off with no few insults and a great deal of baiting, Naruto found himself filling the rest of his day with training. Weapons without chakra, weapons with chakra. Training with the clones, training against the clones. It wasn't as good as it could be, but it would have to be enough until tomorrow. It was apparent by the time that night fell that Itachi wasn't coming back and it was getting difficult for Naruto to see, not having the Sharingan eyes that allowed Itachi's sight to be as good in shadow as it was in daylight. A lack of sight wasn't going to stop Naruto, however. If Sasuke could nearly see in the dark, as Itachi could, then Naruto wasn't ever going to let that bastard one-up him.

It became dark quickly here, wherever this place was. Naruto did his best to fight shadows, light flashing off steel and the air quickly cooling his sweat. His golden hair, shaggy and bright around his head, was the only thing he could see that wasn't gray, black, or white.

_'What would have happened if I had been there? Would Asuma still be alive? Are Sakura and Kakashi all right? Would it be better? What if….'_

It took a while for him to realize that he was freezing. He slowed and finally stopped. His muscles were burning and he was breathing hard. The kunai trembled in his grip, the blade wobbling back and forth so badly he thought he might drop it.

"You should go back inside."

The voice, easily recognizable, was Itachi's, and Naruto fancied he saw red eyes gleaming under the dim light of the moon.

"Probably," Naruto said breathlessly. He finally shoved his kunai back into the pouch, hooking his thumbs through his belt loops. He wanted to assume his usual pose, hands behind his head, but his muscles were screaming and he was afraid he wouldn't be able to move his arms up that far. "Why'd you run off, anyway?"

Itachi was silent for a long moment, the rustling of his clothing loud in this dark. "I had something to do."

Naruto didn't know why, but that felt like a lie. It even tasted like one. It might not be a complete lie, but it still seemed far too similar to one for Naruto to swallow it. "Right." In the face of his sarcasm, Itachi said nothing. "Is it really that hard for you to talk long enough to actually explain something honestly or are you just stingy?"

"I may have a touch of the miser in me."

Naruto snorted. He had never thought Itachi had it in him to make a joke. "You're trying to change the subject again." He sighed. "Whatever." Itachi was just like Sasuke. He was always silent when he needed to talk. One Sasuke was already more than Naruto could handle, so it was probably best to sleep and try to figure out what he needed to do with the one that was his responsibility. Interesting inconsistencies in Itachi's personality aside, Itachi was not the Uchiha that Naruto was waiting for. Naruto started to head toward his room.

"You asked once why I killed my clan."

Naruto started. Itachi's voice was even colder than the night air, but the tone, softer than Sasuke's, had some foreign note to it that made him uneasy. "I did it for the exact reason that I stated to my little brother: I needed to see what I was capable of. Most of those that I killed weren't involved in the Uchiha politics. A large amount were retired ninja with children. Those that weren't chunin or civilians were involved in Konoha's police squad. I had no particular motive in killing them other than to see if I would have the credentials to one day join Akatsuki."

"Bullshit."

In the dark, he heard Itachi smile. "Not completely."

It took a few moments before Naruto realized that Itachi had gone into the mountain, most likely passing right by Naruto to do so without him even noticing. It was then that the blonde ninja shook his head bemusedly. One thing was becoming increasingly clear to him. This thing was that like Sasuke, Itachi did not appreciate being ignored.

Brothers. Never having had a real brother himself, Naruto had not completely understood what it meant. It was evident to him now that, like it or not, Itachi and Sasuke were definitely family. They were both bastards.

Almost with some amount of affection, Naruto smiled.

* * *

_I feel like squeeing, though I'm unsure as to whether one can actually make such a noise. Itachi was in Naruto Shippuden! YAY! There'll be more of him in the next ep as well. And yes, I have a reason why Naruto is stated as more powerful (or at least equal to) Itachi. Kakashi says in the newest parts of the manga that Naruto is more powerful than he is. Kakashi is second only to the Sannin in Konoha. One can argue that Kakashi is even more powerful than Itachi, if Itachi didn't have the Sharingan, as Kakashi graduated at an even younger age than the "prodigy" Uchiha. Therefore, Naruto is incredibly good._

_In case anyone wants to hear me rant about timeline and plot (__you might even get a few plot hints__, if you're good) the latest_ _entry in my livejournal (link in bio) will give you a clue about it. Oh, and there might be an update this weekend. I really don't know... Reviews might make up my mind. In other words, I'm going to visit my sister and need to update quick this time. So review, please!_


	12. Part Twelve: And the Reason is You

_To write this chapter, I watched over episodes 128, 129, and 130 again, and several inconsistencies struck me. Some of Itachi's reactions were off if some of what he said to Sasuke was true, and none of it could really be proven as true, either. He had minute reactions about Shisui's suicide that made it seem as if he was grieving, not as if he had killed him, and he was really pissed over it: Itachi wouldn't lose his composure like that if it wasn't serious. There were also small things that he probably wouldn't have bothered to fake because no one would have noticed them. Anyway..._

_

* * *

_

**Sunrise, Sunset: Part Twelve**

_And the Reason is You_

Over the years Itachi had learned to never look back. The only thing that looking back could prove was that changes could have been made, that perhaps perfection might have been reached if he had just tried a little harder. This tendency to not look to the past was one of the reasons that he did not enjoy Naruto being with Akatsuki. Naruto was a constant link to Sasuke and, by that connection, to the past. He had a brash honesty that Itachi could think of as admirable, even if he did not wish to follow it himself. The problem was that Naruto seemed to expect it in others as well. If he was not given what he asked for, he thought you as a bad person. He didn't seem to understand that some things were meant to be kept private, hidden beneath the years and polite redirections to things less painful. He would think less of you then for hiding, when cowardice was sometimes necessary for survival. It was at that time that Naruto somehow managed to make you think, to say, to speak of everything you had been hiding. That was how Itachi felt.

It was nearly an hour after he had spoken with Naruto that Itachi could be found sitting on the top of the Akatsuki's mountain on the highest ledge, thinking about what had happened nearly eight years ago when he had killed his clan. The wind blew his hair over his eyes, reddened by the Sharingan and bloodshot from the wind itself. Everything below looked small and insignificant. Things, and people, always looked insignificant to Itachi, no matter where it was that he was sitting.

Naruto, no matter how much his curiosity was piqued, was probably never going to be given the full story. The only reason that Itachi had mentioned it to him was to regain his attention; the other less apparent reason was because telling Naruto was almost like telling Sasuke.

He had loved Sasuke, once. He doubted anyone would believe him if he said that what he had done was for Sasuke, that the story was a lie, but it was _his_ story. He would tell that story even with his last breath. Even if Naruto were to somehow learn everything that had happened, left unsaid would be that there were no excuses. None; and every decision that Itachi had made had been made with both eyes open. Mangekyo Sharingan eyes, whether open or closed, were a powerful thing.

* * *

Sasuke started out each day just after dawn, much to Suigetsu's apparent displeasure. This meant that every morning was started out with a fight, for if Suigetsu was whining, Karin was trying to hit him. Karin, Sasuke was quickly learning, seemed to have a constant case of bad temper in regards to Suigetsu.

Sasuke hated this team. They were the best. He knew that in some distant corner of his brain, whether the knowledge had been gained from Orochimaru telling him long ago or from Orochimaru's constant presence in his mind. Gaining dominance over Orochimaru in that battle seemed to have gained him nothing but time, which was the reason he was rushing headlong to Itachi rather than waiting a bit. Trying to plan more, though, would be useless. Sasuke had spent every year of his life since his clan had been killed planning.

"Are we there yet? It's so hot...!" Suigetsu's very voice was beginning to make Sasuke wince. Karin, the quick-thinker that she was, was able to pick up on this fact and somehow managed to make Suigetsu squeal and shut up. It was a sad day when the girl who insisted on lusting after him was the smartest one in the group. He supposed that he should be used to it by now—Sakura had been the smartest as well.

Sasuke sometimes entertained the thought of what life would be like if he had managed, somehow, to bring his team with him to Orochimaru. The snake Sannin certainly wouldn't have minded Naruto, at least. Sakura would have been more difficult to manage, but Sasuke would have done it. If only they had wanted to follow Sasuke instead of staying where they were, trying to keep him with them in that place that produced mediocre ninja like cattle to the slaughter.

"So does Sasuke head the Sound ninja now?"

Juugo's voice; he was asking Karin. Sasuke didn't bother to look back. The answer and the question didn't concern him. He doubted that he would live past his confrontation with Itachi and did not really want to live past it. What was the point of an avenger's life after they had achieved their vengeance?

"I suppose he is…." Karin said thoughtfully. "He was Orochimaru's favored experiment, after all. He'd have to beat down some of the opposition, but it wouldn't be any problem. Hey, Sasuke! Is that what you're going to do after you kill that Itachi guy?"

Sasuke didn't bother answering her, face upturned as he stared at the sky. Somewhere, Itachi was under this same sky, and as long as the two of them were beneath the same sky, on the same earth, Sasuke would find him.

Yes, perhaps he was once Itachi's "foolish little brother." Perhaps he still was. He would die, though, as one of the strongest ninja alive. He could die for that.

* * *

Naruto lay in the middle of the hall near his room. The stone that pressed against his back was hard and cold, but there was little else he could do at the moment. Rain was beating down on the top of the mountain, the noise thunderous through the echoing halls. It had started just after Naruto and Itachi had begun training that afternoon. Naruto had been attempting to change the trajectory of a shuriken by using the Object-Mind Transfer Jutsu. Something like that would be useful when a Hyuuga or Uchiha could see through substitutions. He had almost gotten it when the sky had begun to crack and tremble.

It was going to be a good storm, a storm that came rarely in Konoha. Naruto had seen a few of them, even been in a few of them, while traveling with Jiraiya. Konoha had some thunderstorms in the summer but not very many, and it rarely rained at any other time.

Naruto had closed his eyes, bored of staring at the ceiling, so it took him a few moments to realize that Itachi was sitting in his own doorway, apparently oblivious to Naruto's presence. Itachi's room was very near to Naruto's. The simple fact was that Naruto was technically a prisoner and was therefore to be watched as much as possible, so when the Leader had said that Naruto was to be given one of "the good rooms", Itachi seemed to have taken that to mean one where he could keep an eye on him.

Naruto felt his mouth gape open comically as he watched his "captor." Itachi was sitting in the open doorway of his room. Light streamed from behind him out into the dim hall, perfectly set so that black hair, still mussed from being outside when the storm had begun, looked like a dark halo against the electric brightness. None of this was what had Naruto trying to catch flies in his open mouth.

Itachi had a bottle of black nail polish in his hand and was placing the final coat on one of his toes. Judging from the glaring words on a piece of tape wrapped around the bottle, it was actually Deidara's, which made a great deal of sense since Naruto had thought Itachi wore dark blue. Uchiha Itachi, one of the last two of the great Uchiha clan, was painting his toenails. Naruto needed to try that again. Uchiha Itachi was painting his toenails. Uchiha. Itachi. Nope, it still didn't make any sense.

"What are you doing?"

Itachi's gaze was shadowed by the darkness of the hall, but Naruto felt it when it rested against his rather incredulous face. "What does it look like?"

Naruto grinned, sitting up. "Rain makes you cranky, huh?" He received a heavy-lidded look for his efforts at conversation. Itachi turned back to carefully spreading black polish over his toenail. It was easier to talk to Itachi when you couldn't see his eyes. Naruto had always been a bit afraid of them, even when he hadn't known what it meant. "Never knew why Akatsuki would be so _girly_ as to wear nail polish. I mean, even _Sakura_ doesn't wear nail polish. Even that Ino girl. But all the big bads wear it."

Itachi sighed, loud enough for Naruto to hear it as he set the brush back into the small bottle. "Come here."

Blue eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"I don't like to repeat myself."

Naruto briefly considered snapping back at him, but decided after only a second of thought that it wasn't worth it since he didn't think Itachi could kill him without the Leader's permission. He inched forward a bit before stopping.

Itachi held out his hand imperiously. "Give me your hand."

Naruto still couldn't see Itachi's eyes, even from just a foot and a half away. It made him feel comfortable; he gave Itachi his hand. So distracted by wondering what the other ninja was up to, he didn't even notice Itachi's actual movements until he felt the peculiar cold sensation against his fingernail. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked, quite conversationally.

He could have sworn that he saw a flash of white, more of a baring of teeth than an actual smile. "You were curious as to what I was doing. I'll need to finish both hands; it will look strange if I just paint the nails on one and you don't know how to get it off, do you?"

Naruto considered this for a long moment, watching as the brush smoothed paint over his thumb. "I hate you," he decided after his long deliberations. "You're an evil man."

"Yes, that _is_ what they say."

Naruto was silent after that, but Itachi watched him from underneath hooded eyes. He was struck suddenly by how different Naruto looked from the first time Itachi had seen him. He wore black now, the sleeveless mesh shirt revealing the muscled arms and quick hands of a shinobi. His pants were black also, and the cloth of the hitai-ate that held back his longish golden hair. With nail polish the look would be completed. He looked... old, watching Itachi place the finishing touches on the second hand. Wary and weary, his blue eyes far too wise for such a young man.

"Do my toes, too!" Naruto said with a closed-eye grin.

"Yes."

The light caught Itachi's eyes when he shifted, dark gray rather than red. Naruto smiled.

* * *

The breeze blew Sakura's short hair away from her face as she ran through the desert. It was hot here, so much so that she was sweating. Long trails of salty liquid ran down her cheeks and her back, but it felt good to be doing something for once rather than just waiting. She was no longer just sitting. She was moving forward.

Moreover, Sakura felt like she was part of a team again. She had Sai and Kakashi by her side, racing to save another of their teammates. She had hope that she could see Naruto again. They might be able to get Sasuke back. Everything she had been yearning for these past few years could finally be possible.

"Sunagakure is just up ahead," Kakashi said. His voice was muffled a bit from behind his mask and resembled a lazy drawl, as it did so often. It had annoyed her when she was younger, but time had given her some measure of perspective and she was aware of how young her jonin sensei really was. Fortunately for her, as her life had rested on it several times, "young" didn't mean "inexperienced" in Kakashi's case.

All three of them stopped before Suna's gates, watching as they slowly creaked open. They were greeted by the guards and passed through the hands of several different people before they were finally standing before the Kazekage.

"You're looking well, Gaara," Sakura said. Tactfully, since the last time she had seen Gaara he had just been dead. "How have you been?"

His eyes came to rest on her, a slow, thorough glance that was purely Gaara. "...fine." He paused and his gaze went to Kakashi.

Temari rolled her eyes. Although the gesture was of exasperation, she was wearing a fond smile. "Jiraiya has been waiting for you," she said, ruffling a hand through her sandy blonde hair. She was looking as well as ever, her expression alive and bright. "Believe me, having him stay here for the past week has not been pleasant. I didn't know that one man could drink that much sake. He keeps complaining about it being from the Sand instead of from the Water, too. Apparently the Mist beer is just better."

Kakashi smiled benevolently, the mask crinkling and his hitai-ate slipping down farther over his left eye. "Well, at least the old man has good taste."

Temari muttered something that did not sound agreeable, shifting to cross her arms over her chest.

"Have you heard anything about Naruto?" Sakura stiffened at Gaara's curt words. From the corner of her eye she thought she saw Kankuro shoot his brother a worried glance, his purple-lined mouth set in a grimace.

"No. Tsunade-sama says that's a good thing, though."

Gaara didn't say a word when he turned. "Jiraiya is in here."

Mouthing some sort of apology, Temari gestured for them to follow the Kazekage into the room. Kankuro just shook his head. Rubbing one of her wrists nervously, leather gloves chafing her skin, Sakura and her teammates followed.

* * *

_Would you believe that I've had that nail polish scene planned since before I started this damn thing? Ahem, sorry. I'm having a moment of frustration here at my own pacing- feel free to disregard me while I throw kunai at the computer. The chapter title is from that song by those people with the crappy name (Hoobastank). I also tweaked the first chapter a bit on little details to keep it with the normal series storyline. Tell me if find any mistakes, would you? I didn't have time to proof. Please feel free to review me and tell me how much you love/hate/wish to throw kunai at the computer as well. The reviews get the chapter out faster, really... Hehehe._


	13. Part Thirteen: Repetition

_There is an interesting story as to how this chapter was conceived. You see, I was going to my sister's. And then I wasn't. Then when I got there, I stayed anyway without any of my things, including the piece of paper that had the general idea of what I wanted to happen in this chapter. And then (guess what) I couldn't find the aforementioned paper! I'm sure you'll know how long it's been since I updated, and I really wanted to write this chapter... Anyway, I will deter you no longer. Read ahead._

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* * *

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**Sunrise, Sunset: Part Thirteen**

_Repetition_

The sound of dripping water echoed throughout the series of connected tunnels that made up Akatsuki's base. The recent rain would affect the echoes for days after the actual act of raining, making them entire atmosphere seem a bit wet but otherwise unaltered. Pein had always held a sort of ambivalent liking toward the rain. Any time that there was a storm he could invariably be found in his study, or whatever room he had procured for himself in their temporary bases, reading. It was not in his nature to read anything that would not one day be useful to him, so generally the scrolls all held the theorem of obscure jutsu. This behavior also held true for the days following the said rain, usually. This time, however, it was not to be.

Hidan had definitely been killed. The word had come in just a bare hour ago. This meant that a new member would need to be found, preferably someone that a current member could vouch for, as Orochimaru had done for Itachi. Such a thing would hopefully insure that there would be no traitors within the ranks of the few members that Pein actually considered useful. In other words, those members who had rings.

The pickings were slim, and however inelegant the words were, they were true. There were only ten members of Akatsuki at any given time, and though they occasionally had apprentices or some sort of minion, it wasn't often. Not only that, but once there was the proper number of Akatsuki members again, it was nearly time to seal the Nine-Tailed Fox. If one of his team realized this, all of his plans would be for ruin.

Motions made in doubt and anxiety were not something that Pein cared to make. He stilled when he was angry or upset, so still that he looked as a statue did. He sat like this now at his desk, staring at the wall as if it was something foreign and fascinating. His thoughts slipped and slithered through his mind, turning over and back, lashing back and forth like the twitching tail of a cat before it pounced.

"How is Naruto's training coming along, Itachi?" he asked suddenly, breaking the silence he had held for the hour since he had heard of Hidan's fate. He could hear Naruto surprised shuffling. Without looking, the Leader could tell that Naruto was standing several feet from Itachi, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Jeez, how did you do that? It's not fair."

"Neither is sneaking up behind me," the Leader said mildly. "You cast a shadow." Naruto's head turned to check. He started to snicker.

"I want to take him outside to practice."

As usual, Itachi was painfully blunt. It amused the Leader more often than it annoyed him. He flicked his gaze to meet Itachi's own red one, a predatory smile curving on his lips. "Go ahead. I expect you to return after you have finished to speak with me. There are several matters we must discuss."

Itachi nodded benignly. Naruto was, apparently, ignoring the conversation in favor of scowling at his fingernails. "This stuff doesn't come off," he declared, tearing at the polish on his fingers with the nail of his thumb. "I've been trying for hours. Why do you guys all wear this stuff anyway?"

"To perfect our image. Did you expect that it would come off easily when we have to travel so much?"

Naruto snorted. "Why would so many ninja agree to look like girls just to 'perfect their image'?" He heaved a sigh. "Can we go now? I'm so bored... And you better teach me that new jutsu like you promised."

The Leader could have sworn he saw a small smile on Itachi's face when he turned and walked out of the room.

* * *

Jiraiya, Sakura was displeased to note, was as perverted as ever. The first thing he had said to her had been to remark on the small size of her chest, which he had been leering at most obviously. That had started Sai off, wondering if it was normal for people to stare at other people's chests. Both were now sitting in the corner facing the wall, holding ice packs to their heads. Sai being oblivious was the only reason he hadn't been kicked somewhere very painful. Jiraiya had been spared worse because he could dodge wonderfully. Maybe next time he would remember that Haruno Sakura was not to be leered at.

"Sakura is scary when she smiles like that," Sai remarked in a whisper to Kakashi. Kakashi, whose nose was stuck in that damn book once more, nodded without seeming to pay too much attention to what he was doing. He only glanced up briefly to see her rather wicked smile.

"If you want to see large breasts you should look at this," Kakashi offered, tilting Icha Icha so that Sai could see one of the illustrations.

Sai blinked. "How can that woman even stand? She's almost grotesque."

Kakashi huddled protectively over his book. Jiraiya started to berate Sai about his "amazing works of literary genius" and how Sai must be "too much of a child to appreciate such wonder."

"Did I say talking was allowed?" Sakura's voice was like ice. The talking immediately ceased from all occupants of the corner and Sakura turned to look at Temari with a pleasant smile on her face. "So, you were saying Jiraiya told you…."

For some reason that Sakura couldn't fathom, Temari seemed to be near hysterical laughter. "Yes. Ah, he said that from what he's been able to tell Naruto is alive. There haven't been any chakra flares in what he believes is their permanent base right now and there would be a really large one if they had sealed the Nine-Tails. They're good at covering up their traces, but not that good."

Pale green eyes shone with joy. "So where is it? Is he sure Naruto is there?"

Jiraiya glanced her way nervously. "I—"

"No talking, perv. Temari?"

Temari was biting her lip to keep the laughter in, but after a moment she managed to control herself in an admirable display of shinobi conduct. "He said that it was on the Eastern peninsula of the Land of Earth. It will take us a few days to get there and because it's enemy territory, we need to split up and go two different routes. We need to be careful."

"But Naruto is alive?"

Jiraiya seemed very serious when he looked at Sakura this time, his dark eyes meeting hers. "I think so, Sakura. But we don't know what condition he's in. He was taken by Akatsuki. Even if the Nine-Tailed Fox heals him..."

Sakura shook her head, her pink hair flying everywhere. "No. I know Naruto. If he's alive, he's there pissing someone off and dodging the fist that retaliates. We just need to find him and Itachi, and then we'll find Sasuke." She noticed the pitying look in his eyes and, glaring, said, "I know he might not be well, Jiraiya, but time heals most things. Naruto is strong."

That was the first smile that she had seen on Jiraiya's face that didn't look lecherous, so she decided not to hit him for it. Not for the first time she noticed that Jiraiya looked very like Naruto when he smiled like that, so when she and Temari started planning she felt a bit more at ease. Even Gaara looked a bit more hopeful.

Soon: the word was a promise.

* * *

Most people wouldn't have been able to gauge Naruto's progress over such a short amount of time. It was easy for Itachi, though. He knew Naruto normal abilities quite well thanks to Akatsuki intelligence and he had spent what seemed like far too much time with Naruto since they had taken him from Konoha. In the shadows of the trees outside of the mountain, blowing fiercely in the wind and glistening with drops of rain, Itachi watched his young charge with hooded lids. Naruto's golden hair was blown away from him as he fought with such skill. He was no doubt utilizing the trees that he was so used to, having grown up in Konoha where trees were plentiful. He was, Itachi noted with a vague feeling of discomfort, quite amazing. Naruto's chakra was huge even without the Kyuubi's, which fed it and made it grow even larger over time.

One of the things that Itachi was able to see was that Naruto's chakra and the Kyuubi's were thoroughly meshed. As far as he could tell, there was absolutely no way they could be freed from one another. Trying to take the Nine-Tailed Fox would not only result in the death of Naruto's body, but it was very likely they would take Naruto's soul as well. There was only one tailed beast left before the Leader would be forced to take the Fox and whatever games, whatever time he hoped to gain, would be up.

Akatsuki didn't need Naruto to kill Orochimaru. Naruto had to have figured that out by now. The fact was that they just hadn't gotten around to it. Watching Naruto move, hiding and disappearing often but always in constant motion, Itachi thought that it was very likely Naruto could beat Orochimaru if he could just keep his temper. That wasn't the point, however.

Naruto was faster now, more accurate, and ultimately more aware of his own body. His reaction time was up from what it had been; he seemed to actually _think_ occasionally when he thought. His strategies, though strange, always seemed to work and his tactical ability was one of his best skills.

It left Itachi wondering if it really was possible for Naruto to beat Sasuke. Both were incredibly powerful ninja, both had special skills, and both had Sannin teachers. There was no way that any sane person would bet on that match. There was no way to tell who would win.

Itachi had always hoped for Sasuke to be the winner in any battle, but Sasuke had grown up to be an imbecile. He had gone after Itachi's old teacher to become his own. He had followed in Itachi's footsteps every time he had thought he had seen one. The older of the two brothers was well aware of how alike they were, but was the younger? Anyone looking in from the outside certainly knew. Twisting away from a thrown shuriken, Itachi watched Naruto's eyes. They were overbright, shining with joy from a good fight. Naruto had been one of those to see the similarities between the two, but somehow those similarities seemed to outline the differences for him. For the first time, someone could see the Uchiha brothers as separate people.

Even Uchiha Fugaku, Itachi's father, had never really been able to see them as different people. He always said that Sasuke should be more like his older brother if he said anything to him at all. The few times he had nearly complimented Sasuke it was to say that it was good he was trying his best to be like Itachi.

Fine, dark hair fell over his face when he landed on one of the tree's branches. Itachi spared a moment to push it away, scanning the treetops for an attack. The bark felt rough against the hand he put on the trunk to steady himself, his black boots crunching leaves that had been carelessly strewn about by nature.

Naruto had always noticed both Itachi and Sasuke, no matter how much he might try to ignore Itachi's presence sometimes. Itachi could almost like him for that.

Spotting Naruto half-hidden behind the trunk of a maple, Itachi threw a kunai at him as hard as he could. Naruto yelped, throwing himself down and plastering himself to the forest floor.

"We should go back," was the only thing Itachi said as he walked away.

_Almost._

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* * *

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The youngest member of Akatsuki stood before Pein like a statue. The room was as dark as pitch, as was everything about Itachi except the soft glow of his pale skin. Pein watched him with glowing red eyes. His long, sharp fingernails tapping the desktop and the sound seemed all together too loud in the quiet room.

"Uchiha Sasuke killed Orochimaru."

He didn't get a reaction. He hadn't expected that he would.

"Then why is Naruto still alive?"

Pein smiled. "Because I do not know how to separate him and the Kyuubi so that they both will live."

The reaction came then when a pair of blank crimson eyes narrowed. "Why do you need them _both_ alive?"

"Why did you paint Naruto's nails?"

The room was silent for the long moment before Itachi bowed and left. A wide grin showed the Leader's victory.

* * *

_Yes, I know it's kind of short, but you have to keep in mind I lost the notes for this chapter. This is why I don't usually make chapter outlines: you can lose the freaking notes! Please review and tell me you still remember me. It's been so long…_


	14. Part Fourteen: Rules of Shinobi Conduct

_Okay, here's the deal with this chapter. I think that Itachi was part of Anko's team under Orochimaru. All genin go out in teams, two male and one female, and Anko had to have a team. The timing even works out: Anko, thirteen. Shisui, twelve. Itachi, seven. I'm not one hundred percent sure about Shisui being in there, but it fits well enough and I doubt Kishimoto will ever explain it properly anyway._

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**Sunrise, Sunset: Part Fourteen**

_Rules of Shinobi Conduct_

Sasuke jumped away from a C1 explosion and thought about how at least his brother had appropriately fearsome companions in skills, if not conduct. He had met up with Deidara and Tobi just a few minutes before and after they taunted him in the traditional manner of most incompetent ninja, they had proceeded to blast the hell out of the landscape. Sasuke had rather liked that tree, too. It was surprisingly easy to dodge these attacks, though. It would have left Sasuke with a feeling of hope if hope had not long since deserted him in the cold corridors of Orochimaru's bases.

"Will you stop dodging, brat? Tobi, he won't stop dodging!"

"Maybe you're just losing your touch, Deidara-san? It's never taken you this long before."

"Why don't _you_ try? I always have to do the work!"

He didn't like it, but he needed them. He needed them to confirm to him if the information he had gained from Orochimaru was true. It was possible that Akatsuki's base had moved since Orochimaru had checked and Sasuke needed to make sure before he went traipsing off into enemy territory. It wasn't more than a couple of days away if he was right. He just wished he had earplugs.

"Aw... don't whine, senpai. It's unbecoming."

He really, really wished he had earplugs.

* * *

Itachi knew that Kisame was watching him brood, but as long as the Water nin did not try to attack him he couldn't care less. If Kisame really enjoyed looking at him that much, who was Itachi to stop him?

The Leader's information about Sasuke had given him mixed feelings. He was unsure as to what exactly he was supposed to be feeling to begin with. He hadn't liked the fact that Sasuke was with Orochimaru, but now that he was going after Itachi it was obvious that he and Naruto would meet sooner than expected. Naruto would have to be told, but the Leader hadn't given him permission to do that. Red Sharingan eyes glared into the sun. He found it so distasteful to lie. He now had a constant, nagging feeling that something was going on beyond his realm of knowledge.

Naruto was on the training ground still. Itachi could see the other shinobi from out the window that he was sitting in. He appeared to have been going at it for a while, despite how dark it was getting.

_'If he keeps pushing himself as he has been, he'll just become burnt out...'_ The thought, as soft as a whisper, was an annoying one. It was not Itachi's concern what Naruto was doing and the longer he was distracted from news of Sasuke the better, but...

Shinobi did not get close to one another. Shinobi did not have feelings. Shinobi—normal shinobi— wouldn't have gotten as close to another as Itachi had to Naruto over the past few weeks. Close physically, barring the interlude when it had rained yesterday, even though it was mostly during training. Mentally, Itachi's thoughts seemed to center around Naruto lately. Emotionally? Itachi _felt_ very little about anything.

Sparing a last look out the window and ignoring Kisame with the greatest amount of disdain he could muster, Itachi left the hallway to go to his room.

It was thirteen years ago when Orochimaru had assembled the oddball group of shinobi who were graduating the academy. Anko, at thirteen, had left the academy a year later than the rest of her class. To keep someone back or to refuse to graduate them was almost never done. It had only happened once before Anko. The second member of the team was Itachi. Having graduated at the tender age of seven, there had only been one person to graduate earlier than him in the history of the Village Hidden in the Leaves and that person had been one Hatake Kakashi. As the pride of the Uchiha clan, one whom it was assumed by the collective heads of the clan would lead them into greatness, he was considered "a prodigy" and "a genius." The third member had, of course, been Uchiha Shisui. Who else could it have been?

It had all gone wrong, as did everything that Orochimaru touched. Orochimaru had taken Anko and left the village; not long after, Itachi had followed. For Shisui, there was nothing left to be said. His suicide note said it all: "I am tired of missions. At this rate, the Uchiha will have no future. And neither will I... I am unable to continue to walk 'the path.'" An ANBU, as Itachi was. An Uchiha, as Itachi was. Itachi had admired him so much, had thought of him as an older brother. To have been accused of killing him had really been the last little push that Itachi had needed to do what he had done.

A group of outcasts were those that Orochimaru had assembled, those that would be loyal to him for the simple reason that there was no one else that they had to be loyal to. Anko was considered to be an idiot, Itachi was held in contempt by his peers for being incredibly intelligent, and Shisui was cast adrift, just another person in an immense clan. Orochimaru had made them better. Anko became jonin a few years after she had returned from him. Shisui and Itachi became ANBU at a very young age. It should have all been well and good, but it wasn't. By the time killing became Itachi's life, most people of his age group were nowhere near graduating from the academy. A shinobi at seven, a killer by ten.

Most would consider that an even greater tragedy than the massacre of the Uchiha clan.

* * *

The next morning was bright and Itachi was supposed to be training Naruto. He had instead disappeared off the face of the earth. Naruto wasn't pleased.

"Damn it, sharky, why the hell am I here if no one is going to train me?"

A shark-toothed grin spread over Kisame's face. "Oh, well maybe it was because you didn't have a choice?"

"Well, there was that…." Naruto scuffed the ground with his foot, wondering if he could kick some dirt into Kisame's eyes or whether that would just backfire. Everything on his body ached from his constant training and he wasn't in the mood to deal with the brain-dead murmurings of a shark-man. "That doesn't even count! If I had tried, I could've taken you." Kisame began to laugh. Naruto grew even less pleased with life in general and settled down to pout once more. "Hmph. Where are Deidara and Tobi, anyway?"

"They headed out a couple of days ago, just before that storm. Were you too stupid to notice that Deidara wasn't eating all the food like he usually is?"

"Don't call me stupid. It's hypocritical coming from a fish-guts-for-brains like you."

"You're just grasping at straws for new insults now, aren't you?"

"No one appreciates me," Naruto grumbled. He sighed, raking a hand through his blonde hair. It was starting to grow out, some of it now hanging over his black hitai-ate nearly to his chin. "I'm going to go make Itachi get up," he said. "If I can't sleep late, he doesn't get to either." He grinned a fox grin and, decisively, started off in the appropriate direction.

Kisame looked alarmed. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Itachi—" Naruto was too busy rubbing his hands together gleefully to notice him. "Eh, he'll figure it out when Itachi takes his head off." Maybe Kisame could help. Placated with thoughts of dismemberment, Kisame wandered off in the direction of the Leader's study.

* * *

It was unlikely for a ninja, especially as good a ninja as Itachi, to remain sleeping while someone crept into their room. Bold (and, perhaps, stupid) as he was, of course Naruto had to try. It was before the door had crept open even a bare centimeter that Itachi was already twisting to look over his shoulder with an irritable "Yes?" on his lips.

Naruto seemed taken aback for a moment by the sight of Itachi sitting on the windowsill. Perhaps he was reminded of Sasuke, who had often done the same thing when they were younger. Maybe Sasuke had unconsciously imitated his older brother despite whatever he felt about him, or perhaps it was something deeper, something that ran through the blood they shared. Itachi didn't really know.

Quickly regaining his composure, Naruto yelled, "You're late! What's the point in me being kidnapped if I can't train?"

Inscrutable, Itachi considered the intrusion before him with hooded, dark gray eyes. It appeared that a confrontation with the focal point of his thoughts was not giving him any of the answers that he sought. As always, Naruto was just loud.

"My younger brother killed Orochimaru."

Naruto blinked, and then he blinked again. "Why would he... did he go back to Konoha?"

His voice was filled with so much hope that Itachi almost regretted needing to give him the negative answer. "No. He's headed here."

The blonde ninja looked completely blindsided. He didn't seem to be able to understand why Sasuke would leave Orochimaru if not to rejoin his team, didn't seem to understand what the political repercussions of such an act would be even if Sasuke did go back to Konoha. Suddenly, blue eyes sharpened again. "Why is the Leader keeping me here, then? I certainly don't have anything to bargain anymore."

The twist of Itachi's lips was more of a grimace than a smile. "You never really did. As far as I'm able to tell, he is just keeping you because he believes I like you."

Naruto snorted, not paying any attention to what Itachi had said in the slightest. "In my experience, Uchiha people don't exactly tell people when they like them, though they sure as hell make it clear when they hate them."

Vastly amused, Itachi rose to his feet. Combing long fingers through his hair, he set about the task of completely and purposely forgetting there was another person in the room as he snapped off his hair tie and began to brush his hair.

Naruto, however, was still watching him. If Itachi wasn't very much mistaken, he was actually standing there with his mouth hanging open wide enough to catch flies at the sight of Itachi's long hair. Although he had seen it during this time with Akatsuki more than he had when they were fighting, it was different to see it down to Itachi's elbows and clinging everywhere.

"You have the day off," Itachi said, his voice filled with the slightest tinge of annoyance. "Go away."

Naruto shifted from one foot to the other like a begging child. "Days off don't come with the deal, especially if Sasuke is coming here! I need to train and stuff!"

Itachi did not want to be around Naruto right now. "There's no point in me training you anymore unless I use the Sharingan. The Leader seems to want you alive, so that obviously isn't an option. Train by yourself if you want to train."

"All right…."

"Wait."

Itachi was never able to figure out why he said that. Somehow, he ended up right next to Naruto. He was just inches away, staring into eyes as blue as the summer sky.

"Seriously, Uchiha, what's up?" Naruto said nervously. He stepped back and yelped when his foot caught on a nail. Gravity took its course when he tripped and the only place left to go was Itachi. Itachi never knew who started what happened next, either—an accidental touch turned into something else, a desperate kiss pressed against soft lips, tongues gliding together and tangling. Their breathing became quiet and fast, everything blurring with hot pleasure as the world spun; dizzying, nauseating.

Itachi pulled away the second his thoughts caught up with him. "Go!"

This time, Naruto left without a token argument.

* * *

_Heh, I bet you all hate me right now for leaving it there. On the bright side, as far as I can tell we've got about 20 chapters left. And yes, I know this chapter is out later than I said it would be. The rewrites came back from previous chapters to bite me on the butt again- in other words, I had to do some editing with this chapter. __You__ try to do something like this and make it in character! So tell me... you like it? Review please!_


	15. Part Fifteen: A Day of Turmoil

_Yeah, you're probably wondering why it took me two weeks to get this chapter out. Again. Now, I don't believe in giving excuses, but I have a damn good one this time! Y'see, I was apartment hunting. I'm going to be going to college in the fall, so I needed to find one. But as long as nothing pops up again, updates will HOPEFULLY be more frequent, since I need to bust my ass to get some written before the semester starts. Damn fic; it's too long!_

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**Sunrise, Sunset: Part Fifteen**

_A Day of Turmoil_

When Naruto didn't know what to think about something—and this was not a regular occurrence, as Naruto was actually quite opinionated (whether he truly knew anything about the subject discussed was up to debate)—he tended to brood. Sasuke would have been proud. Lacking a place in the Akatsuki base where he could properly ruminate over such things, Naruto headed off to the hot springs.

If there hadn't been hot springs under the mountain, no doubt all of Akatsuki would have smelled a great deal worse than Kisame did already. But hot springs there were, and this was where Naruto chose to do his thinking, also known as sulking, and similarly known as brooding.

Itachi, Naruto decided after all of this thinking, was a very strange man. Not that Naruto didn't know this already. It was just that Naruto hadn't expected that the entirety of the kisses that he'd had in his life, currently numbered two, would both come from the remaining two members of the Uchiha clan. Not to mention that at the moment, both were rogue and both had questionable sanity.

Naruto kicked his feet in the water lazily. He was sitting on the edge of the onsen without any real expression on his face as he looked into the water, too deep in thought to really be thinking at all.

Naruto hated it when it was so very hard for him to understand what was going on. It seemed to happen a lot to him, either because he simply couldn't understand normal humans sometimes or because he was often thrown into complex situations. Whatever the reason, this seemed to be the mother of all things hard to understand, because Itachi was Sasuke's brother and Sasuke was Naruto's friend and Itachi had killed his and Sasuke's family. He was supposed to bring Sasuke home, to Konoha, to Sakura, and then he was supposed to go home. He probably wasn't going to ever be allowed to leave again unless there was a war where they needed to use him for the demon he carried within his body. He would be _home_ again, though, back to his friends. He was supposed to win the villages respect somehow. He was supposed to be Hokage. How could any of that happen? How could he pull that off without ever leaving the village, only leeching on their generosity and living a life shut up in what amounted to little more than a cage? He was supposed to help everyone. He was supposed to make everything right.

Clawed hands clenched over the rough stone edge of the pool and he barely resisted growling, emotions too powerful and his link with the Nine-Tailed Fox too strong to be able to block anything out. He had been trying so hard for so long. Was it all just supposed to amount to nothing?

And through all of this, there was the softest whisper in his mind that wondered if he would get to kiss Itachi again. No one else, no one, had ever touched him unless it was to hit him. Not even Sakura, though her own punches were more affectionate than anything else.

Itachi had looked scared. Why?

Naruto was going to find out.

* * *

Itachi was quite certain that he was not scared, frightened, disturbed, or anything of the sort. He was sure that what he had done was a horrible lapse in control that hadn't happened since he was a teenager. It was foolish, but he had always thought that Naruto belonged to Sasuke, in a way. There had been something very strong in the way that they acted around one another.

Itachi had chosen his own spot that he had wanted to retreat to as a tree on the top of the mountain. He could stare over the landscape and try to think about nothing in particular. He was attempting to do what any good shinobi would do with this situation: avoid thinking about it and pretend it had never happened. Considering the circumstances, this seemed like a very good idea and Itachi planned to follow it.

Having made up his mind, the dark-haired shinobi began the long and treacherous climb down the mountain and back into it. It took a full five minutes—a lifetime to a ninja—and when Itachi made it down he rather wished that he had not bothered to do so.

Naruto, being Naruto, had of course decided to confront him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" The words were barely legible, snarled out as they were. The teenager was standing there with his blonde hair around his face, bright against the dark fabrics Akatsuki had clothed him with.

"What do you mean?" Looking blandly, if pointedly, at the entrance behind Naruto, Itachi raised an eyebrow in entreaty. "Move aside."

The next words that Naruto said were not able to be understood at all, but if Itachi had to give a translation he would say that they were something along the lines of, "Damn Uchiha!" with several swear words thrown in around the sentence.

"What do I _mean_? Why do you Uchiha guys always pretend that stuff doesn't happen? It doesn't make it go away, idiot."

Itachi actually appeared to consider it for a brief moment, tapping his fingers on his arms. The polish, black rather than dark blue, shone rather dully in the light. "I would like to go to my room. Move."

* * *

Naruto bared his teeth. He felt like he was going to start snarling and biting at any minute and tried in vain to push down the Kyuubi's influence. It wouldn't be polite to kill one of the ninja that belonged to his host, but considering the ninja discussed, perhaps the Leader would consider it a favor.

"You're so _stupid_. Always hiding and pushing things away- what does that solve? It seems like everybody I meet is like that. Gaara, Neji, Sasuke, you... there isn't even a difference! At least Gaara made something of himself and what did the rest of you accomplish? Two of four went rogue. Aren't those just great odds for the future. So tell me, is it Konoha, or just some genetic deficiency? Maybe I should be glad that you killed your clan and screwed Sasuke up. At least there isn't likely to be any Uchiha children, judging from how feminine the two of you are."

"Feminine?"

"Yeah, feminine. Have you seen the way Sasuke is dressing lately? And how about your nail polish, huh? At least I didn't wear it by choice and now the damn stuff won't come off."

Itachi looked at him strangely for a moment, and despite the dangerous spinning of the tomoe in his eyes, he almost looked amused.

"Maybe it is Konoha," Naruto muttered. He watched his foot scuff the ground, kicking dust everywhere. "How am I supposed to change anything if no one even bothers to fight?"

He hadn't even realized Itachi was so close until there was a hand beneath his chin, elegantly lifting it up. He looked into Sharingan eyes as they faded into dark gray, seemingly without any notice of the person who had them. Even without the red irises they still looked strangely emotional for someone whose face looked like it was that of a painting, frozen forever in just one expression.

"You take too much on yourself, to want to change everything."

After a few seconds the hand dropped suddenly and Itachi stared at it bemusedly, as if he wasn't quite sure how that had happened.

"You're so weird, Itachi…."

And this time, when they were kissing, it was something that they both knew they wanted. A soft and fervent brushing of lips, simultaneously gentle and mindless, felt for some reason like fire. There was something in this. Something dark and frightened, something passionate and affectionate.

"Weird..." Naruto repeated quietly, winding black-clad arms around Itachi's neck.

There was fear in Itachi's eyes again that Naruto doubted he realized was there, but Naruto didn't mind since he was sure he looked the same. This was frightening. But it felt perfect.

* * *

A four-tailed summon fox was sitting beside Pein with its head in his lap as he read. The long, blonde tails twitched and lashed, the tips of them as red as if they had been dipped in blood. If a fox could purr, this one was doing so. Pein was only vaguely aware that he was petting it, fingernails scratching it lightly behind the ears and down its soft neck. Thick scrolls were rolling from the desk across the room and several leather-bound tomes were open around the room. Jutsu after jutsu were inscribed on all of them, nearly every one of them forbidden and none of them less than an A-Class jutsu.

"I have been told to inform you that the elder expects a result soon," the fox finally sighed out, raising its head from his lap. The voice was a light male tenor, the exact voice that one would expect from such an undoubtedly beautiful creature.

"I know results are expected," the Leader said calmly, though his crimson eyes flashed with anger. "I do not need a reminder of such a fact."

"Don't become angry with the messenger, red." Gray eyes laughed at him when he looked cross.

"I _do_ wish you wouldn't call me that."

The fox laid his head back down. "You have my permission to keep on wishing what you will as long as you do not expect a result."

Pein gave that comment the incredulous snort it deserved and resumed petting the silky golden ears beneath his hand. The words on the page were beginning to blur together, but he already knew all of the information he was reading. If only he could remember the exact jutsu he was looking for, he would not need to keep searching like this and he would not have to risk so much, either.

The fox lashed his reddish tail to brush against Pein's ankles. "I need to go. Summon me when you have any news."

The blonde fox poofed out.

The candlelight cast a shadow against the wall when Pein stood, shedding scrolls left and right, and he stormed out of the room.

If only he could remember.

* * *

_I know it's short, but you're unfortunately going to have to deal with it. I tried and it refused to grow longer. In fact, when I was looking for places to make it longer I actually had to edit a bit and it grew even shorter._

_I posted a picture in my livejournal I drew from several screenshots of the Leader. It's not perfect and it's certainly not my best, but it should give you a basic idea what he looks like. Anyway, please review!_


	16. Part Sixteen: Underneath the Underneath

_Oh wow, for this chapter you're either going to kill me for stopping where I did or die yourself (from happiness, from embarrassment, from whatever). Eek. Just... wow. Ignore me and read ahead, but keep in mind that it's not as simple as it seems. Not that it seems that simple…. Anyway, get on with the reading._

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**Sunrise, Sunset: Part Sixteen**

_Underneath the Underneath_

Sakura ran among the treetops, dodging from branch to branch. The bark was firm under her feet and didn't make a sound as she channeled chakra into her legs to jump. Then again, she was a ninja. It wouldn't do anything if she didn't want it to, and since they were officially in enemy territory now they couldn't afford to draw attention to themselves.

The team that was heading to Akatsuki consisted of Jiraiya, Sai, Kakashi, herself, and Gaara. It had been strange to see someone with such a blank face as Gaara show so many feelings about one person, but Gaara had. He had been so insistent that his council had been forced to let him go despite him being the Kazekage. They had seemed relieved, in fact. That little detail made Sakura uneasy, but she supposed Temari and Kankuro would keep anything bad from happening. Over the years they had learned to care about their younger brother, stubborn and unfeeling as he sometimes was, and she knew they would follow his lead no matter where it might take them.

Gaara was her partner, actually. They had split up into two teams, one of two and one of three, and she had volunteered to go with Gaara so that the two perverts could enjoy each other's company. Those had been her exact words, in fact.

They were getting closer and closer to Naruto. She could feel it within her bones, see it in the tenseness of Gaara's body, and even though she knew this could very well be a trap—though for what, she didn't know—she was willing to dash headlong into it if it meant the possibility of retrieving the two people she loved the most. The people most precious to her were at the end of this mission. Nothing could stop her.

* * *

Itachi tracked Naruto with his eyes as the blonde paced back and forth, ranting to himself under his breath things that Itachi could barely hear but would be willing to bet contained expletives. If he had wanted to really know, the Sharingan could have read Naruto's lips, but he wasn't sure that he did. The very instant they had sprung apart the second time, Naruto had begun pacing. Itachi was fairly certain that he was worked up into a near-frenzy by now.

The teenager had his fists clenched at his sides. The claws that resulted from his fluctuating mood were black because of the polish and Itachi noted with a certain amount of detachment that blood was spilling down the palms heedlessly, dripping to the floor in bright red drops.

"You're insane!" Naruto finally snapped. His eyes, red ever since this conversation had began, were furious.

"No doubt," Itachi said, "but perhaps you would like to continue this conversation in a place where the Leader cannot hear our every word?"

"Where exactly is that? That weirdo can probably hear everything in the entire mountain."

Itachi paused, unsure as to if where he wanted to go was allowed for Naruto given that he was supposed to be a prisoner. The Leader had technically given them permission not that long ago, though, and Itachi had never put much stock in simple rules and restrictions. "Outside, in the forest. That's probably the most likely place."

Naruto just nodded, red eyes finally fading to purple and then to the normal blue.

It only took a few seconds for the two ninja to head into what was probably one of the only forests in the entire land of Earth. The relentless wind that came from Suna to the south of them tended to tear trees from their roots, but Akatsuki's mountain sheltered the forest from that wind and a gale from the other points of the compass was unlikely. Naruto leaned against one of the trees, so similar to the thick forests of Konoha, and stared at Itachi. Each of them was waiting for the other to say something that would make sense, but words weren't quick in coming to either of them.

Itachi, for some strange reason, thought of Naruto for a large amount of the time. He had done so ever since he had met the boy at twelve, but these thoughts had increased ever since he had abducted Naruto a month ago. The blonde made him consider things that he hadn't thought about in many years—his past, his present—and something like that was strange because Naruto didn't seem to do very much thinking himself most of the time.

Itachi might even _like_ Naruto, but he doubted it. It wasn't often that he found things that pleased him in such a way.

These things didn't quite add up, and since Itachi was the prodigy of the Uchiha clan, it was very strange that Itachi couldn't seem to add correctly. It was obvious that he was missing something, but whether this "something" was from Naruto or himself, he didn't know. Why had he kissed Naruto when he thought relationships of that kind were trivial and meaningless? Why did he hate to see Naruto upset? Why did feel so annoyed when Naruto ignored him?

"Perhaps... I am fond of you...?"

Naruto snorted with laughter for some reason. Itachi was not amused at that fact. "Just perhaps? You mean that you don't even _know_?"

The dark-haired ninja decided not to respond to that. There wasn't really any reply that he could give, as he did not really know what to say in this situation, except, "Sasuke will not be pleased."

He saw Naruto grimace before the expression quickly changed to a wicked grin. Itachi was aware that Naruto was attractive, but seeing him grin like that made Itachi's stomach twist in a way that he did not entirely find appealing. Shinobi were not supposed to feel that way about other people. It was one of the reasons why a ninja only rarely married, and when they did they almost always retired immediately before.

"If he gets over wanting to kill me, his expression would be really, really funny. I would probably have to tie him up first, but I could take him. Getting trained by Akatsuki versus getting trained by Orochimaru? No contest."

Such confidence should not be so enticing, either. It was likely to get Naruto killed one day if that was what he truly believed.

"Everyone that you enjoy friendly relations with will hate you if you try to form any sort of attachment to me." Itachi's words were decisive as well as forcefully honest. They caused Naruto's face to shadow, his eyes somewhat haunted as his fists clenched once again.

"Well, it isn't unlikely," Naruto said, passing a hand briefly over his face as if to give himself time to gather his wits. Blue eyes abruptly rose to stare into Itachi's. They glowed with some sort of incredible light, so bright a blue it nearly hurt to look upon them. "But screw 'em," he continued cheerfully. "It's not as if I ever do anything for myself."

Itachi would have disagreed, mentioned Sasuke, but he remembered something Naruto had said about a promise to someone concerning his need to retrieve Sasuke. Naruto was correct. He did not seem to do anything for himself, at least to Itachi's knowledge. Even the dream to become Hokage that he told to whoever would listen seemed like it wasn't really for Naruto, but rather for other people.

"You are... strange."

"And you're weird!" That indomitable smile was still on Naruto's face. "What a pair we make, huh?"

This didn't make sense. Naruto was supposed to die soon. Itachi was one of his captors. Yet the Leader seemed reluctant to kill Naruto and the thought of continuing whatever this was between them was not entirely repulsive to Itachi. It was possible that, however long this lasted, it might work. If only for a day, or even a week, it could work.

"Yes."

Still more than a little uneasy, both with one another and with the situation, they went back to Akatsuki.

* * *

Naruto was in his room that night when his idiocy really struck him. The things that he wouldn't be able to achieve with whatever the heck was going on with Itachi came to mind, as did the reactions of Konoha in general and his friends in particular. Sasuke especially would feel betrayed, if he even cared about what Naruto did anymore.

At a time around midnight, Naruto was watching Itachi from his bedroom window. The other man was throwing kunai at a target with such force they went through to the other side.

So many "what ifs", so many opportunities for the failure of everything Naruto had ever wanted. All his promises, oaths, vows—for nothing? Why did he want this when so much could go wrong?

Itachi rippled through the air like silk caught on the breeze, deadly precision and accuracy apparent as a shuriken cut through the wood of the target as if that space was empty of any object whatsoever. He was so emotional for someone who seemed so dead to the world.

Naruto liked it here, with Akatsuki. They killed people, but were any of the people they killed really innocent? This was a war, of sorts, and though Naruto had never really been able to understand diplomacy, he understood the situation at least a little bit. Underneath the underneath, all that Akatsuki wanted was political. They wanted to gain control of the money that people gave to Hidden Villages to protect them. Just like Sasuke, they wanted power. It wasn't just black and white.

"Damn it." The curse slipped through Naruto's lips so easily because he thought he might have figured it out. Underneath the underneath, the Hidden Villages and Akatsuki were one and the same. Akatsuki just hadn't made itself a village yet.

He went through the doorway and he stole through the halls until he reached one of the exits to the training yard. Itachi had stopped moving before he gotten very far past the exit, honed senses informing him of the new arrival. He stared with dark, cherry-colored eyes, demonic and cold. He looked so different at night, with few and far between lights trembling against his skin.

Naruto hadn't thought this out very far, didn't really know what he wanted to do, or say.

"I really hate you."

Itachi didn't say anything. He probably didn't see the point, considering how weak Naruto's words had been.

Could this be some sort of genjutsu? Could all of this be some sort of lie that the Sharingan had cast over him? He could still be lying on a bed in Konoha, blind to the real world as this overtook him.

Naruto drew closer to Itachi and slowly reached up to cup a pale cheek. It couldn't be a lie. If it was, Itachi wouldn't have that expression on his face. Darkened by the night, his face had more feeling on it than Naruto had ever seen associated with Uchiha Itachi, missing ninja and clan-killer. There was confusion, passion, that strange fright, and even some measure of affection.

Naruto's hand still lay against Itachi's face. Their lips met and something sparked. It felt like the world fell. Everything narrowed until only two people, no problems or hesitations between them, existed. It was all engulfed in flame. They kissed and parted, and then they kissed again. Scar-rough hands tangled in hair as dark as ebony. They pulled Itachi closer, insisting that no space should be between them.

To both have Itachi inside him and to be surrounded by him. To possess and to be possessed. To absorb anything and everything through skin, through touch, through saliva and blood. It had to be everything. If this didn't exist, what did?

Naruto let Itachi pull him inside the mountain again, all ninja grace and instinct gone. They were barely able to keep from crashing into a wall. It seemed to be sheer luck that they made it to Itachi's room in one piece. If Akatsuki and Konoha were so similar, how could this be any different than it would be with a Leaf ninja who _wasn't_ a member of Akatsuki?

Of course, when Naruto's back hit the bed and he reached to pull Itachi down on top of him, he wasn't really thinking about that.

* * *

_Somehow, I feel like writing that intruded on their private moment which doesn't... really... make sense. Tell me what you think._


	17. Part Seventeen: No Regrets

_Yeah, I know that this is out way later than it should have been. Do NOT give me shite about it. Harry Potter came out and I'm tired beyond all get out. Eh, sorry for the bad mood. Not only from late-night readings of that, but also the good HP Harry/Draco I've found lately. Add that to the fact that I'm not at home but visiting my sister..._

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**Sunrise, Sunset: Part Seventeen**

_No Regrets_

It would be so easy to forget who he was with, except that he couldn't. It was so dangerous, extreme, passionate, incredible. The teeth against his throat, the body pressing against his. He could not deny these things because there was no way that he would be able to stand allowing anyone else these liberties.

It was the touch of rough hands against bare skin. It was the hot pain and pleasure that washed through him when sharp fingernails dug into his skin, when the skin on his neck was thoroughly marked and reddened. It was lips pressing together and bodies writhing, completely out of control but so freeing. It was _Naruto_, and this did not seem wrong but neither did it seem like it should have been the right thing to do, but it was.

To be completely and totally fair, honest, and forthright, Itachi gave as good and better than he got. Sex had never been something that Itachi cared much about and the one time he had bothered had been when he was very young and for the sake of a mission. It had also been a woman and this was vastly different than anything with a woman.

Dark gray eyes were glazed with pleasure, but he could still see the hazy outlines of Naruto's face and body. Naruto looked golden, from his bright hair to expanses of tanned skin that was marked here and there with scars. Naruto looked even less aware than Itachi was and, fleetingly, Itachi wondered if Naruto would hate him at the end of this.

Lips met his with bruising force, Naruto's irises red and slit-pupiled, his words snarled, "Don't think!"

There was nothing to do but comply.

* * *

When Itachi woke up that morning, he was not precisely a happy person. He actually thought himself quite the fool. He'd had no intentions of sleeping with a nearly-sixteen year-old boy and certainly had no intentions of sleeping with Naruto in particular. He (fleetingly) thought that this was something his clan would by no means have condoned, though if his clan was still around to condone it or not, it would be much less complicated.

All of this musing and Itachi was still left with an armful of clingy blonde ninja. Naruto was not a particularly attractive sleeper, but he was... charming, in a way. His bright hair fell all over his face and the pillow, a few strands slick with spit from where they had gotten in his mouth, and he drooled. There was a sort of artlessness to him that Itachi found very appealing, though he was still gifted with the knowledge that he _should not_ find Uzumaki Naruto appealing in any way whatsoever. He honestly did not understand why he found Naruto so attractive to begin with. So he watched the boy in his arms with half-lidded eyes until he woke up. How they were able to sleep next to each other was a mystery, especially so when one of them was awake. It was not something that ninja did. However Naruto was too noble to kill Itachi in his sleep. He was also more trusting than Itachi, as well as younger, so his instincts were probably not as honed.

Naruto's eyes opened in a shot, like those of every other ninja. They were still sleep-hazed, though; they seemed to contain no sign of intelligence in them at all. It was a sort of cloudy happiness that made very little sense and would probably disappear within seconds of true thought, but it was pleasant to see. Naruto had a naivety to him that made all others around him seem worldly and mature. It was as if he could not understand the cruelties of the world. That very naive nature was probably what had caused this mess to begin with.

Conscious thought regained, Naruto's eyes widened. "Oh crap." Though the statement was crude, Itachi agreed completely. Naruto, however, was not finished. Blue eyes stared down into red when Naruto half-raised himself up with one arm. Itachi stayed quiet, knowing this couldn't end well and accepting it.

Naruto's eyes narrowed and he reached down to touch Itachi's cheek, muttering something that sounded sad before he said legibly, "What Sasuke doesn't know can't hurt him, deal?"

Amused, Itachi said, "Agreed."

Naruto snorted. "You're supposed to say 'deal' back. It's like a _tradition_." He collapsed bonelessly on top of Itachi, tucking his face into the curve where neck met shoulder. "A deal unless we get _married_ or something, because Sasuke would have to be there. Kinda tragic when he'd probably kill my groom. Potential spouse. Other... guy. Good thing we can't get married anyway. What the hell would we call each other?"

Long fingers had entangled with the strands of hair that curled against the back of Naruto's neck. "And I had believed you coherent."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Naruto was laying on top of Uchiha Itachi, snuggling with Uchiha Itachi, and he was just as terrified as anyone else would be if they were this close to the famous murderer. This was going to blow up in his face because things like this always did and there was so much that could go wrong. Naruto was working with Akatsuki even if they still wanted him dead, Sasuke hated Itachi, Sakura hated Itachi, Naruto was pretty sure that everyone hated Itachi. Itachi wasn't a very nice person and Naruto _knew_ that, but it didn't matter. When Naruto jumped into something knowing the full consequences it had to mean that it was the right thing to do. Even if it was wrong.

* * *

Another day would have lead to another breakfast at Akatsuki if all had gone according to plan. Itachi would have gone down earlier than Naruto in an attempt, one that would probably have been in vain, to make it so the Leader would not know what had occurred the previous night. Naruto would have slept a bit more in his own room and then made breakfast for Kisame after being bribed. They would have trained. That is how it would have gone, if everything had gone according to Naruto and Itachi's Plan A. Unfortunately, the Leader had his own plan.

Akatsuki's leader had been awake for several hours already and was very annoyed at his team, unfortunately for them. That was why he had sent Kisame for Itachi and Naruto. At least, that was what Kisame said when Itachi had a kunai at his throat. One couldn't be certain of the information given the circumstances.

"Jeez fish-boy, do you ever knock?" Naruto yawned as he scrounged around for his hitai-ate, ignoring the rather flummoxed-looking man standing in the doorway.

"Itachi, tell me that what I think happened didn't happen." Kisame knew the words were too close to an order for Itachi to ever be willing to answer them with anything less than sheer derision. Instead, Itachi looked at his partner with cool crimson eyes instead, disdain dripping from his every pore.

"You are an idiot."

Kisame smirked, revealing sharp teeth. "Good enough for me. The Leader has something he has to talk to us about. He seemed pretty pissed. We're going to have to meet with the others, too."

"He's really easy, isn't he?" Naruto murmured, a bit too loud, as Kisame started for the Leader's study. Kisame shuddered and pretended that he hadn't heard that. His will power was strong; he was in denial.

Naruto trailed after the two members of Akatsuki, knotting his hitai-ate snugly behind his head so that his hair wasn't in his eyes anymore. He should probably cut it soon- it was approaching chin-length, but it seemed like a hassle when for all he knew he could be dead within the next ten minutes. His position in the Akatsuki headquarters wasn't stable enough for him to be worrying about such trivial things as the length of his hair.

There were several crashes coming from the Leader's study and Naruto paled. It appeared that he was going to be able to see what it was like when the Leader lost his rather imperturbable grin. The power wafting from that room was incredible.

"Leader?" Those strange wine red eyes flashed when they entered, almost startled before he stopped pacing and leaned against the wall, face shadowed once more except for those burning eyes.

"Your little brother is a great deal more dangerous than I had previously considered." The words were whisper-soft, echoing around the room more clearly than if they had been shouted. "Deidara is dead. I am not sure about Tobi."

"What?" The shouted word, of course, belonged to Naruto. He had just seen Deidara a couple of days ago, was wearing black nail polish stolen from him, had fought for food with him. Deidara couldn't be dead; he had just been alive.

"He blew himself up." It was said lightly, with just a slight sneer that spoke volumes. "He was never able to control himself once he started and, like always, an Uchiha is the source of all my problems." Red eyes clashed when they met. "Kisame, leave."

Kisame nodded sharply and left Naruto and Itachi standing there, the former shifting rather uncomfortably. The air practically crackled between the Leader and Itachi, so much so that it was not pleasant to be in the same room as the both of them.

"Uchiha Sasuke is almost certainly dead," the Leader said, "but I wouldn't count on it. Uchiha have an annoying habit of living. We'll hold a meeting with the others in an hour."

Somehow, Itachi managed to break that dangerous gaze with his leader and leave, a confused Naruto trailing after him. The Leader sat in his chair and pillowed his head in his arms. Not only had Deidara died, but the Leader had also received an ultimatum from his superiors. He could wish that he had been prepared for such a thing if he wanted to wish futilely. Deidara was just stupid, but what had happened to Tobi was directly his fault. He almost felt regret.

Tobi wasn't dead, but he most certainly wasn't "Tobi" either. When they had met earlier, he had called the Leader by his name, his real name. He had called him "Pein."

* * *

"He isn't acting normal. He isn't even making sense! What's going on? Could Sasuke really be dead?" Naruto's voice was near hysterical.

Thunder and lightning were ripping the sky in half again, their fury unparalleled. It hadn't rained here much to begin with, but two times within just a few days was unprecedented. It could be heard throughout the mountain.

Itachi's face was completely blank again, but his eyes were shadowed. "I don't know."

As they stepped outside into the pouring rain, Naruto didn't ask which question Itachi was answering.

* * *

_I realize that this is short, and I am truly and honestly sorry for that, but where else could I leave it? You have to admit, that was a good ending. Okay, if we're going to be REALLY honest, the manga screwed up my plans for the rest of the fic. And I mean that it seriously effed it up, so I kind of BS-ed my way through a large portion of this chapter. Heh._


	18. Part Eighteen: Taking Chances

_For future reference, oni are Japanese demons associated with destruction, disease, hell, and storms._

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* * *

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**Sunrise, Sunset: Part Eighteen**

_Taking Chances_

It was raining. It was raining in sheets and in torrents, the wind whipping around like something oni-inspired. It was beautiful; it was horrible. Water cascaded down Itachi's cheeks, caressing his pale lips like a lover forlorn. The world was crying as if Sasuke were actually dead from a battle that Itachi had pushed him into, trying to make Sasuke understand what the Uchiha clan truly was. If Sasuke had died then it was Itachi's fault and there was no way that Naruto would ever forgive him. There was even less of a chance of Itachi forgiving himself.

Naruto thought that Itachi looked like art, standing under the rain like that with his face upturned to the sky. The words were somewhat nonsensical, but they were all that Naruto could come up with for the image that Itachi made. He could not find words for what he was feeling right now, the mixture of guilt, sorrow, grief, anxiety nearly overwhelmed him. It was so strange to have just spoken with Deidara, and then he was dead. He had been so alive. And then there was Sasuke, the boy who had kept Naruto in stasis for so long, the person that Naruto would give everything and anything for, the person that he had undoubtedly betrayed last night and would no doubt betray again.

Yet, they were shinobi. They pulled themselves together the moment that they could, and as they walked back into the mountain, Itachi said, a hint of a smile in his voice if not on his face, "The storm broke."

Naruto had never been known for understanding subtleties, but if the world was crying for Sasuke's death and the storm broke... even Naruto understood that, and Itachi was not the sort to waste time or speech on uncertainties. Hell, maybe the Uchiha brothers had some weird sort of psychic jutsu link no one had told Naruto about. It didn't matter how, but Itachi wouldn't say it if he didn't know.

Naruto grinned.

* * *

There were many things to ready and very little time to ready them in. The Leader did not like that. He did not completely understand what was going on; he did not like that either. The only thing that he was completely certain of at the current time was that if Uchiha Sasuke was alive, and he most likely was, then he would be at the base very soon, as the afternoon was quickly approaching. There wasn't enough time to move from this base to another and the only plausible alternative was just an hour away, which wouldn't make much of a difference to those tracking them. Besides, that base was where "Tobi" was staying, and Pein didn't want to be anywhere near the man who was calling himself Uchiha Madara.

"You and Kisame will have the guard an entrance each. We do not have enough people to be in pairs, as we normally would. Uzumaki, you will stay in Kisame's room and try not to be killed."

"Why Kisame's room? I do have my own, you know."

The Leader's words were as cold and painstakingly simple as if he were speaking to a slow-witted child. "Because your room has a window. We are going to have intruders. A window and intruders do not go together, because the intruders can get through the window. Itachi, you will guard—" He paused, his strange red eyes scanning the shadows. "Never mind. I fear it is now a moot point."

Naruto's gut clenched when he saw the light hit dark red eyes as Sasuke moved out of the shadows. They couldn't yet see his companions, but there had to be more. Sasuke wasn't stupid enough to go attack Akatsuki alone.

He stared at Sasuke and realized for the first time that Sasuke was staring back. It had just been for a few moments, but his eyes had widened just slightly in surprise. Like Itachi, all emotion showed in Sasuke's eyes, though Naruto had never noticed that before.

If this had happened the way that Naruto had wanted it to, Sasuke would have waited at least another month. Naruto would have had time to train, to fight Sasuke himself and drag him back by the hair to Konoha. Maybe he would have died by Akatsuki's hands afterward, but that would have been fine because he would have fulfilled his promise to Sakura. He wasn't supposed to have liked Akatsuki, liked Deidara and Tobi, who were both most likely dead. He wasn't supposed to have slept with Uchiha Itachi, wasn't supposed to have doubted Konoha and everything he believed in. He was just supposed to get Sasuke and go home, damn the consequences, damn everybody.

Like it always was when they met nowadays, Naruto was just staring at Sasuke and not saying a word, too deep in thought. He supposed Sasuke was saying something. It was probably some sort of grand entrance kind of thing, something epic. Some kind of "I have the righteous cause and will kill you dead" speech. Naruto didn't care.

"Don't forget you promised I could bring him back to Konoha!" Naruto hissed warningly at the Leader, breaking into whatever stilted conversation- no doubt full of death threats- that was taking place.

"Technically, I believe I promised you that you wouldn't die before you were able to bring him back to Konoha. Him being alive for this venture was not specifically put in the promise."

"But it was part of the deal, even if Sasuke killed Orochimaru himself instead of me doing it for you."

* * *

Sasuke was silent again. Sasuke was watching Naruto.

Itachi had mixed feelings about his little brother being here, especially since Itachi was not foolish enough to believe that Naruto would choose to stay here instead of Konoha, recent... transgressions aside. Naruto was the kind of person that lived and died by the ideals that he set and the bonds that he made, whether real or imaginary. Itachi had come to realize the past few weeks that Naruto was not a normal shinobi. He would not do anything to succeed, but neither did he have undying loyalty to his village. What he did have loyalty to and pride in was his word and his friends, the few that he had. Itachi was not one of them and he was not entirely certain that he wanted to be. What he did want was to either get rid of these inconsequential feelings or begin to understand them, for if he didn't he feared that his brother would not have to try very hard to kill him.

"Sasuke." Sharingan eyes returned so quickly to stare at Itachi that it was as if they had never left him. "Aren't you going to kill me?"

That was really all that it took. Sasuke launched himself forward.

"You two are idiots!"

The three remaining members of Sasuke's group, Hebi, attacked.

* * *

Uchiha Madara was not happy with the body that he currently inhabited. It had unseemly scars all over it and it had particularly heavy scarring over one half of the face, though it was clear much of the scarring had been healed over the years. Perhaps that strange boy Pein was good for something after all.

Long fingers tapped slowly against the desk, where Madara sat as he stared into the mirror. He had taken off the Akatsuki cloak and mask that Tobi had worn. He slowly reached a hand up to trace over the scar over this body's gray left eye; the other was brown. It cut through the eyebrow and down the cheek before it disappeared. The right side of the face was the side that was scarred by thin, light marks that looked as if someone had drawn a rake across it.

Madara stood and moved closer to the mirror. He stared into the one eye that activated as Sharingan, the right one. Even in this body, it showed the Mangekyo that Madara was famed for. He had discovered it, after all. Perhaps he would be able to work with this body after all, if it worked as well as it seemed to. Despite the scarring, this "Tobi" had the recognizable look of one of his family, with his dark hair and eyes. Madara had often said that combined with the red Sharingan this was a mark of how much like demons the Uchiha clan could be.

They had called him a prodigy, a genius, for all that he had done, but then they had hidden his teachings away when they became such _upright citizens_ of Konoha. Even Itachi was not what he would have wished for in an heir, though Sasuke seemed to be well on his way to carrying on the Uchiha legacy. Madara's legacy.

A small smile showed on the face in the mirror. Madara would have to make Pein fix those scars, and then, perhaps he would reveal himself to the younger Uchiha if he thought the time was right. He looked at himself one more time in the mirror. The perfected Sharingan had not been used enough by this body to have affected the eyesight without it activated. Besides that, the gray eye refused to activate and seemed to provide some sort of grounding for the power.

This might go better than he expected.

* * *

Gaara had never been a person who was particularly stable mentally, but ever since the chunin exam where he had met Uzumaki Naruto, insanity had been pushed to the back burner of his mind. Temari could muse all that she wished to about how similar tanuki and kitsune were, both being having the mythological trait of shape-shifting, but Gaara didn't care what she chose to muse about. Naruto had once saved him. He wished to return the favor.

On the other end of his connection to Shukaku, the One-Tailed Tanuki seethed. Though Shukaku had been removed from him, Gaara knew he would never be free of the demon. Not until one of them was dead. The tanuki was nearly as angry as Gaara was about this. Then again, Shukaku was always angry.

Sakura was giving him that strange, curious look again. She often looked at him like she was some foreign animal, but he detected no malice in her except when she was around her male teammates. "We'll get him soon enough, Gaara." Her mint green eyes were soft. Gaara supposed that this look was because she was a female rather than a male; Kankuro would never presume to look at him in such a way except when he thought Gaara wasn't looking.

He did not reply to her. What she had said was a pathetic platitude. There was no need for a response to something like that, though he found that he was glad she made the effort for him. Though they drew ever closer to where they believed the current Akatsuki base to be, they did not know whether they would get their on time, nor did they know for sure if their information was still correct. Akatsuki could have moved by the time that they arrived; it was said they had more bases in Earth and perhaps one or two somewhere in Rain.

"Gaara?" It was Sakura again. He looked at her, waiting for her to speak. She swallowed audibly. Her nerves were obvious to Gaara, but to what end he didn't understand. "Are you all right?"

She was a confusing woman. "...yes."

She sighed heavily, shook her head. "If you say so, Gaara."

Yes, he had. What did that have to do with anything? They continued in silence for several more paces.

"Gaara?"

"Yes, Sakura?"

"Even if he isn't there, Kankuro and Temari can cover for you while you help us search for him."

He looked at her for a moment out from under red hair. "...thanks."

They continued on. The wind blew Sakura's pink hair back from her face, a color that Gaara had never seen on any human being. Although he knew she didn't come from a family of ninja, he wondered if she had a kekkei genkai somewhere in her. At least there was one thing about her that he could find some amount of familiarity with. They both pictured, at the end of this journey, two people: one with blonde hair and blue eyes, an invincible smile on his face and a heart that would stand up against anything, the next was dark and pale, a strange sort of grace embodied in his every move and an inability to lose because he would never give up.

Gaara hoped he would soon be able to find the two people he admired most in this world, Naruto more than Sasuke, but still…. They were important to him. He could reason no further beyond that.

They needed to get to Akatsuki before something irreparable happened.

* * *

_I've given into my urgings and, though I believe that this is one way that the series could play out, this will probably end up being alternate universe rather than divergent timeline, unfortunately. Le sigh. I'm happy with my theories, though, and if the manga doesn't work out this way I think I actually prefer my idea. Heh. Review and tell me whatcha think! Feel free to point out any typos so I can fix them._


	19. Part Nineteen: Clash! Akatsuki vs Hebi

_Yes, I named a chapter like an episode of Naruto. No, I'm not ashamed. Yes, I am proud of myself. I couldn't resist._

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* * *

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**Sunrise, Sunset: Part Nineteen**

_Clash! Akatsuki vs. Hebi - Who Will Win?_

Blades met and clashed. Sprung apart; met again. Naruto dived and narrowly escaped the white-haired man that Sasuke had brought with him. The girl had called him Juggles or Juugo or something. He panted as Juugo was swarmed by clones, all of them black-clothed and with irredeemable grins. The nearest clone gave him a thumbs-up and jumped into the pile.

Naruto spared a moment to watch his best friend and his... Itachi fight. Nothing required them to move much as they shot pure power at each other. It was another level, watching Sharingan clash with Sharingan, and watching it nearly got him beaned in the head when Sasuke's girl teammate threw herself through the air to get away from the Leader's rather effortless jolts of chakra. Naruto didn't even look over to where the two ex-Mist ninja were. It was really wet over there.

"Hey, a little help here?" one of the Naruto-clones yelped, clinging to one of Juugo's arms. For the first time Naruto could remember, he hesitated. These were Sasuke's teammates. The fact that Sasuke _had_ new teammates hurt more than a little, but Naruto didn't know if he could fight Sasuke.

"You people suck!" Naruto grumbled, calling the clones back. All of them poofed out. Juugo looked no saner than he had a few moments ago, just a bit confused. "Hey, I'm a captive here. Go attack someone else, y'big lummox."

"Itachi, hurry up," the Leader said lazily, ignoring the girl's attempt to get at him. All she was managing to do was hurt herself and look like an idiot. Juugo rushed at the Leader as well and was held off just as easily. "This is disgraceful."

Huge waves from the other side of the room where Kisame was battling the freaky water guy had Naruto edging closer to the Leader. "If he hurries up, he'll probably hurt Sasuke. We do have a deal, you know."

"Dealing with the devil, Naruto?"

When Naruto heard Sasuke's voice, he closed his eyes in pain. So close to Itachi's, so familiar and so not... so changed from before.

"Sort of."

Naruto saw the Leader's red eyes darken with anger. "I've spent enough time on useless little diversions." The words were as cold as ice. Naruto felt the earth begin to rumble under his feet as a large amount of chakra began to gather. "Since you are obviously not going to rein in your family, Itachi, I'll do it for you."

Something flashed and the world blackened.

When light hit Naruto's eyes again, it created no small amount of discomfort due to the awkward angle that resulted from Naruto being on the floor. His head was pounding so loudly that even his thoughts were drowned in the sound, making his vision blur and his heart race. The Leader's face swam before his eyes, the bridge-piercings in his nose gleaming in the light.

"He's not dead."

It took Naruto several moments to figure out what the Leader was talking about. It hit him like a bullet and he could suddenly see the large room with clarity. He was the only one here; Itachi, Sasuke, and the others were missing. "Where is he?"

Dark amusement flooded red eyes. "In a holding cell, a hallway over from the onsen. No doubt you'll here the brothers arguing before you ever see them."

For once, Naruto was in no mood for a joke. "They're alive?"

"Yes," the Leader reaffirmed.

He watched Naruto spring to his feet and run from the room. Pein took that time to rake a hand though his shaggy red hair, the gesture so human that it surprised him that he had done it. This was not going at all like he had expected or planned, but he could still pull this off if he could just find the final scroll that he needed. Two days at most, no more, and he would be able to do what needed to be done.

The four-tailed summon fox appeared before him as a sudden flame that came into existence, the fox appearing from inside it. The pale creature looked up at him with intelligent gray eyes, a smile on its face with all of the teeth showing. "I guess you know the elder is not pleased."

"Given Madara's appearance, I would assume."

The fox sighed. "Hurry, Pein. From what I've heard, Madara has the darkest chakra in history. Don't anger him."

Crimson eyes slid away from the fox dismissively to the open doorway. "I understand, Fier. I'll be in my study."

Fier bared his teeth, irritated, and poofed out.

* * *

Naruto raced down the hallways as quickly as he could. His hair whipped back, his hitai-ate still discarded somewhere in Itachi's room, his feet pounded the floor. He skidded around a corner, nearly slamming into the wall. He nearly managed to fall into the onsen before he finally began to hear the raised voices and sibilant hissing that announced Itachi and Sasuke's presence.

"What happened to settling things the proper way, Itachi?" Sasuke's low voice echoed through the hall.

"_You_ are the one that came to this place. I would have found you if you had waited." Itachi's voice sounded just like Sasuke's, except quieter. Itachi's voice was as subtle as the moon at midnight while Sasuke's sounded more like a tiger crashing through the brush. Naruto shivered to hear the two of them together, their voices so similar, just as similar as their near-identical looks and their angry glares. They had the same passion, the same fear, and the same hate. It wasn't surprising that Naruto had found some sort of relationship with Itachi when that was taken into account. Naruto had always known that he was a bit more fond of Sasuke than he probably should have been.

He skidded to a stop in front of Sasuke's cell, breathing hard.

Except for the barred doorway, it looked just like Naruto's room sans the window. There was a large bed, a bookshelf, a desk. A resourceful ninja could make a weapon out of anything, but apparently Akatsuki was not concerned. Naruto only noticed these things vaguely, attention caught by the boy who looked identical to Itachi with Sharingan eyes blaring. There was a bandage wrapped around his head that almost looked like the scarred hitai-ate Itachi wore. His coat was just like Naruto's, the same as Akatsuki's but without the red clouds. They looked so alike, Itachi and Sasuke, that Naruto's heart stopped.

"Sasuke! You're all right, right? Kisame didn't bash your head in or knock you out with his stinky fish-breath or anything?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed angrily. "Idiot."

Naruto grinned at him cheerfully, then turned to look at Itachi. "You two aren't going to kill each other, are you? The Leader-guy promised me."

"I do not plan to kill him."

"Good! I guess I'm technically a prisoner now, right? Because I was here for Sasuke? So I probably need a guard or something, and I'm hungry. I bet you're hungry too, and Sasuke. We should make ramen!"

Itachi's eyes narrowed, just as Sasuke's had. "All right. I'll bring you down some."

"Awesome! Have any particular preference Sasuke?" He took Sasuke's continued silence as a no. "Okay. I want miso and pork ramen, and make sure you don't overcook it so it gets all spongy and gross. I'm hungry, not desperate."

Itachi nodded silently and slipped past Naruto, so close that his long black hair touched Naruto's shoulder. Naruto looked on Sasuke with bright blue eyes, noting the dead expression on the young Uchiha's face, and realized that he did not have the slightest clue as to what he wanted to say. He absently scraped his thumb against the black nail polish, but it still didn't flake. After all of this time, what was he supposed to say to Sasuke to convince him that he should be with Naruto and Sakura, not by himself, not with "Hebi." After everything that happened, what was Naruto supposed to say?

"Are you part of Akatsuki?" Although Sasuke's face showed disinterest, his gaze burned just like Itachi's.

"Not really. They knew where Orochimaru was and could train me. Then you screwed everything up by killing Orochimaru. Thanks for that, Sasuke."

Sasuke didn't sneer the way he once would have, but his eyes showed his disdain.

"Where're the other three, anyway?"

"Down the hall."

They fell into silence again, staring at each other.

Sasuke noticed every change in Naruto. He noticed the longer hair, the lack of hitai-ate, the black clothing and nail polish, the power that wafted off of Naruto like a stench. No matter what Naruto said, he looked and felt like a member of Akatsuki. There was something about him that hadn't been there before. Sasuke would be able to figure it out if he watched Naruto long enough, but a shinobi should never reveal too much about his skills and Sasuke still had to plan his escape.

"Itachi killed your clan, you know."

That earned Naruto a _look_. It was an elegant look that said many things and included therein was a rather large amount of incredulous disgust. "Yes, loser, I _know_."

Maybe Sasuke wasn't as cold as he appeared. "Did you ever wonder why? Or did you just want to kill him? You were only, like, eight or something, right? You should ask him and see if he'll answer. He never answered _me_, bastard that he is." Naruto grinned a disarming grin. "I'll see where Itachi is with the food."

Sasuke watched Naruto as he left.

* * *

Distantly, Itachi noted that his hands were shaking as he poured the boiling water into each ramen cup. He steadied them the instant he realized this. He felt off-balanced, disturbed by the recent events, and he was already working on a solution to both his emotional state and their present situation. The Leader was, for some reason, working to keep Naruto alive when he extracted the Nine-Tailed Fox, and Itachi could not bring himself to believe it was solely for his sake. And Naruto...

Itachi wished that he was a better shinobi. He had thought that he had reached perfection. As a human he was unhappy, though not discontented. As a shinobi, he was what others aspired to. Now, he found that he was allowing his judgment to be effected by whatever was going on with Naruto. It was changing... everything. Itachi hated change.

Sasuke was here, where Itachi was. His little brother was here with him and Naruto, and he was unsure as to what this new development would bring about. Sasuke, who had always been too hotheaded for his own good. Sasuke, who had always craved their father's attention and never gotten it unless Itachi threatened the old man. Sasuke, who had hated and admired him at the same time. Sasuke, the one—

Stop.

Itachi finished pouring the water into the Styrofoam cups and set spoons on the top of each lid to hold it down. He stood there, his coat on the counter and his hair floating around him like strands of black silk. So much had changed in these years since he had last seen Sasuke. A lot had changed even in the past twenty-four hours. So how could he make this all turn out right? How could he plan when all of his plans seemed to be coming down around his ears like a fallen castle of cards?

"Itachi? 'S the ramen almost done?"

Framed in the doorway, Naruto looked like a fallen angel, all in black with such hopeful eyes. Itachi crossed the room to him before he realized what he was doing. He kissed him with such intensity it made everything in the entire damn world fade like it was a dream. This was the only real thing. This was the only truth. Naruto, pressed against him with his hands all wrapped up in Itachi's hair and his heart pounding so loudly that Itachi could hear it. No doubt it hadn't stopped pounding since Naruto had realized Sasuke was here, but that didn't matter.

Itachi didn't understand this obsession. It was a want, a need, something inexplicable and altogether too much. When they stopped kissing, Naruto leaned his forehead against Itachi's instead of pulling away. They should have pulled away. They were shinobi.

Itachi didn't understand.

* * *

_Fier's name is pronounced "fee-er." It's been three weeks since I last posted a chapter. Sorry! College started and I've been having a hell of a time. Chapters will probably be sporadic until I figure out how to arrange my schedule, but I'll try my best. I've got three more chapters (out of five) to read in Sociology before the 26th of Sept. and about 150 pages of American history to read before next weekend. Wish me luck!_

_On a more important note, gods I wish I had more time to write this. It's getting to the part I've been planning on __**forever**__ and there's only been a slight hitch in my plans so far. I've got to deal with Madara, but that should actually be pretty fun, and soon enough Team 7 and co. will arrive. Two chapters from now, I think. Please review and tell me what you think!_


	20. Part Twenty: Twisted Reasonings

_Here I am, coming back crawling into your arms after months of absence. Like a poor puppy kicked out of the car door and left to wander on the side of the road, I beg you, love me._

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* * *

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**Sunrise, Sunset: Part Twenty**

_Twisted Reasonings_

Sasuke stared out through the bars of his prison and thought about teams. Genin teams were arranged two males to one female in almost every ninja village, but once you got further than genin, you worked with more men than women because male shinobi outnumbered the female greatly in, obviously, two to one odds. A lot of chuunin teams were arranged in teams of four, generally, and jonin teams were usually squads of four too, though there were more than that out for one mission because when there was a _team_ of jonin then it was already a bad situation.

Sasuke thought about teams and friendship, a word he had never fully understood, and he thought about Naruto. Once, Naruto had said that he thought of Sasuke like a brother, but Sasuke could never understand that. His own brother had been a beloved rival, a person who was never there, a person who he only remembered by their soft, long hair, the smell of blood, and that poisonous voice. So what did Sasuke know about brothers? What did Naruto, who had never had a brother? How could Naruto claim to know more about family than Sasuke? Most of all, how did Naruto know more about _Sasuke's_ family than Sasuke?

Sasuke sat in that prison with his head leaning back against the wall and his eyes half-lidded, staring down a dark, fluorescent-lit hallway. Thoughts, strategies, half-formed words—they all whirled in red eyes like pinwheels turning in the wind, and he thought about the way that Itachi listened to Naruto, doing as he said without a word. He thought about teams, and friends, and rivals.

And he thought about vengeance, and what it was worth.

* * *

Itachi was by no means a fool. Naruto had some strange idea that Itachi and Sasuke were going to have a long conversation and then kiss, and make-up, and after that everything in the Akatsuki cave would be sunshine and roses and the Uchiha brothers would wear crowns of flowers as they marched back into Konoha to be lovingly redeemed.

First off, Itachi hated flowers. Secondly, anyone who belonged to the particular Uchiha branch that Itachi and Sasuke had originated from did not indulge in physical affection—ever, and certainly not with one another. Thirdly, if either of them set foot in Konoha again they would be killed. While Naruto had probably realized the first two on his own, Itachi didn't think that Naruto quite realized the consequences of the Uchiha brothers' actions and what the village would demand.

"Where's the Leader, anyway?" Naruto said jovially, trying to balance a cup of ramen on head as they walked back toward Sasuke's cell. "I would've thought that he'd be here right now trying to terrify the prisoners."

"He is meeting an "old friend" in the closest base to this one and said to not expect him back until we heard the screams."

Naruto's mouth dropped. "Oh please tell me he's joking."

Itachi didn't say anything. He also didn't feel it necessary to mention that the "old friend" the next base over was Jiraiya, as that would most assuredly lead to Naruto gallivanting off and trying to save his mentor, which was not the standard procedure when one was a prisoner, as Naruto quite technically now was. A fight between the Leader and Jiraiya would most likely end in a draw, unless the Leader killed him outright, because the Leader would never show his enemy all of his tricks and that was what would be needed to kill someone as powerful as Jiraiya.

They were a foot or so from Sasuke's cell when Naruto put his plan in motion, or at least, that was what Itachi was sure he was calling this un-thought out act of stupidity.

"I… uh, should go check on the other prisoners!" the blonde said brightly, stealing a cup of ramen from Itachi and sprinting down the hall. "I'll see you guys later!"

So Itachi was left watching Naruto's retreating back as he stood in front of his little brother who wanted to kill him, knowing full well that he was being pushed into something that he had long ago planned to do on his own time instead of at this moment when the time, as it was, was not yet right.

Sharingan met sharingan. Itachi jutsu-ed one of the cups of ramen in and reasoned that Sasuke was going to have to eat it without chopsticks because there was no way Itachi was letting him have a potential throwing weapon. He then stood staring at Sasuke. Sasuke, of course, stared back.

They were almost the same height now. Sasuke had the indelible stamp of an Uchiha on him, the blue-black hair and the dark eyes, the almost effeminate features, and the round face. He looked like Itachi in his first years as a member of Akatsuki, reveling in his dark chakra and remembering the mistakes he had made with pride.

Itachi had expected to be fighting when they spoke. He had expected to die shortly after, and he would have welcomed his brother's judgment. He had expected to force the truth on his brother and send him back to a hopefully willing Team 7, where Kakashi at least would have the brains to tell them that there was no way Sasuke could go back to Konoha and then turn his back so that the pink-haired girl and Naruto could spirit Sasuke away.

Nothing had gone like he had expected it.

Sasuke tapped his fingers against the Styrofoam lip of his cup of ramen and watched his brother's face, blank except for the eyes that appeared lost in thought and more than a little annoyed. Sasuke still knew how to read his brother. He still knew to look at the eyes instead of the rest of his face, still knew that nothing else would show his mood because every other gesture was shinobi-perfect.

It had never been about Sasuke _wanting_ to know, so Sasuke was not surprised when Itachi didn't bother to ask him before starting with, "Our Father never paid any attention to you. He thought of me as our clan's brightest hope."

Styrofoam crunched under Sasuke's sudden fist and hot liquid spilled over his pale hand. He shook it off absently.

"Your entrance ceremony and the mission that guaranteed my acceptance into ANBU were on the same day. I had to threaten him by saying that perhaps I would not become an ANBU so that he would go to your ceremony. He was very bored once there."

Sasuke leaned his head back and wiped the broth on his coat, his eyes on Itachi the whole time.

"Mother didn't much care for you either. She knew that I was special, but everyone ignored your talents. Every time you had an accomplishment, everyone said that if you continued on in that fashion you might become as good a ninja as me one day. That was why you hated me sometimes.

"So I allowed you to hate me, so that you would become a better ninja. I was quite childish. I thought that they would see you overcome me and realize your talents.

"I was so tired of killing. At ten I was a killer; by thirteen our father had pushed me into becoming an assassin. Orochimaru had gone to Akatsuki not long before and contacted me to meet with him. I chose to see what he wanted and missed a mission, and they blamed me for Shisui's death, which occurred that night."

"You said you killed him," Sasuke said blankly, his eyes half-lidded.

"Yes. I did say that."

Itachi paused, staring down at Sasuke for a moment before continuing. "After they accused me of killing Shisui, I stopped considering the Uchiha my clan. I lost my temper and told them exactly what I thought of them, but you asked me to stop, and I did.

"I could have done anything to gain entrance into Akatsuki. I chose to destroy a clan that was becoming corrupt and giving up everything in pursuit of power, ignoring those that deserved recognition, and failing the village they chose to protect because they wanted to advance. They wanted me to be the one that gave recognition to the clan and I chose to ignore this role they laid out for me. They had become so petty when we were once descended from Hokage.

"Killing the Uchiha clan was like pruning a tree. Konoha will become stronger for it and you will as well. I do not regret it."

Sasuke watched Itachi turn and walk away. He noted that his brother did not go back to the main part of the base, but rather, he followed the path that Naruto had taken, down to the rest of Hebi. Sasuke looked at his hand, slowly clenching into a fist. Snarling a curse, the entire mountain shook when Sasuke slammed the wall so hard that it looked like the chidori had gone through it. He only wished that Itachi was here so that he could do the same to him.

Sasuke was sixteen now, but he hated having to grow up.

He could not even begin to judge Itachi's actions. They were undoubtedly wrong from the standards of civilians, but were they wrong by shinobi standards? Itachi's reasoning had been entirely emotional so many years ago. Sasuke understood that. Sasuke's reasoning not to kill Naruto when he'd had the chance had also been emotional. Sasuke just didn't know whether he was ready yet to accept that everything that he had thought was black and white was actually gray.

No shinobi could claim to be entirely sane, not after the people they had killed, but after all of this time trying to attain vengeance, could Sasuke give that up? Did he even want to? Kakashi had warned him before he had left Konoha that his life, living for vengeance, would be a useless one. He had wavered then, knowing that two paths lay before him and he could follow either one, but then the Sound Four had shown up and his path had been chosen for him.

The paths had diverged again, and Sasuke was still unsure as to which one he wanted to choose.

* * *

"Did'ja tell him?" Naruto asked when he saw Itachi approaching. He was sitting in front of the white-haired member of Hebi's room and watching the guy mutter to himself under his breath.

"Yes."

"Are you gonna tell me?"

"No."

Naruto nodded, his bright blue eyes amused. "All right, then. Who is this weirdo, anyway?"

Itachi looked at the man in the cell, uninterested. "Juugo. One of Orochimaru's former pets."

Naruto made a face. "That tells me a lot. He's loony, isn't he?"

"It seems that my little brother was keeping him in line."

They were silent for a long moment except for the slurping of Naruto's ramen and Juugo's mutterings. Naruto peered up at his companion curiously. Itachi seemed as upset as Itachi ever became, though it would have been hard for anyone not accustomed to searching for an expression on his face to find it.

Naruto was finding it so hard to figure everything out. He had so many things that he had to do with his life, so many things that he had to try to change, so many things that _needed_ to be changed. Yet, how could he change anything when all he would face in Konoha was hate, disappointment, and people who wanted to cage him? He was just a weapon to them, but one that could easily turn on its bearer, so he needed to be hidden away. These same obstacles seemed to spring forth again and again, and Naruto still couldn't find an answer.

The people he cared for, all of them, were counting on him to do things that he wasn't sure he could do anymore, because Naruto was starting to see something in Itachi that Naruto hadn't seen in anyone else. He was starting to see through Itachi's eyes as well. Konoha was self-righteous, calling Akatsuki evil for doing what the Hidden Villages themselves did as well, and Konohagakure had become corrupt down to the core.

So Naruto had a lot of thinking that needed to be done and very little time to think it in.

* * *

In the forest near the Akatsuki mountain, four ninja were meeting after being apart for their journey from Suna, leaning against trees and hands clenched nervously around kunai.

"Where's Jiraiya?" Sakura asked her jonin teacher, green eyes on Kakashi's one gray eye.

"He said he had a little business to take care of. He's scouting for information a few towns over," Kakashi said blandly. Sakura could tell from his expression that he was smiling that meaningless smile, one that told her absolutely nothing about what he thought, but she refused to get frustrated over it.

Sakura snorted. "Right when we need him the most. He's probably looking for a women's bath to peek into. What are we going to do now, Kakashi-sensei?"

She, Sai, and Gaara watched as Kakashi mused, his hand stroking his chin thoughtfully in such a way that one could tell the gesture was put-on instead of natural. "Well… I suppose we should try to find an entrance now, shouldn't we?"

"That makes sense," Sai said, nodding thoughtfully. Gaara said nothing.

Sakura groaned. She could have figured _that_ part out by herself.

* * *

_Well, it's a bit longer than normal. That's something, right? So, my next semester in college starts tomorrow and I'm formally requesting a beta. Three months (and four days, I think, though my math might be off) is just way too long between chapter updates. I need someone to do a spell check/typo check, nag me for updates, and check for clarity/occasionally give suggestions, and who would be able to do it within a day or two of me getting it to them._

_On a brighter note, all A's last semester! Go me!_

_Review and tell me what you think!_


	21. Part Twenty One: Breaking the Rules

_My first fight scene is in this chapter. Or, well, what I _consider_ my first fight scene. It's pretty good if I do say so m'self, but I'm prejudiced against these things. BTW, divergence officially starts again from the manga line as ch386 is absolutely awful. My idea is better and at least Itachi doesn't act insane in a way that isn't in character. Sorry, but canon or not, that was ooc for him._

_I want to thank everyone that offered to beta for me—I'm so sorry I couldn't respond to all of you personally (I honestly tried) but alas, time… So thanks! This chapter is brought to you courtesy of EmpyrealFantasy, so you have her to thank for the awesomeness. Well, and me too, I guess._

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* * *

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**Sunrise, Sunset: Part Twenty-One**

_Breaking the Rules_

Gestures of affection were not part of the shinobi way. Affection of any sort, in truth, was scorned and thought to be a weakness. Perfection was measured in control and control over one's emotions. Respect was given according to power and to family background. The future of a shinobi was already chiefly decided at their birth, and very few of them managed to break those chains. It had always been Naruto's gift and his curse to be one of those that could.

Sasuke had never thought of Naruto as special. He was nothing but an orphan whose family no one knew, who was dead last in the Academy from day one, and who no one thought much of at all. Yet during training, Naruto had matched him every step of the way and gone even further; though Sasuke had been the one to walk away from their battle before he had left Konoha, he had no doubt that Naruto was the true winner. Without Orochimaru's curse seal, Sasuke would have lost.

Sasuke stood up, looked at his sword that leaned so casually against the wall across from his prison, and he looked at the room. Somehow, Akatsuki's leader had overwhelmed him and captured him, but their leader wasn't here now. He would escape, regroup, and come back stronger, like he did best. It had been careless to walk into Akatsuki's base and expect to win. He would be smarter next time.

To be honest, Itachi had given him much to think about. He did not yet know what to think about Itachi and their clan, but the fact remained that Naruto believed there was some good in Itachi. As much as Sasuke hated to admit it, Naruto was a good judge of character. Stupid, foolish, insane—but a good judge of character. So for just this once, Sasuke would acknowledge the few ties that he had left to Naruto and take his opinion into account. He had always thought that bonds were weak, but there was something that he did not understand, could not grasp, and he realized that fact. So he would try to learn what it was and surpass it.

The youngest Uchiha held out his hand through the bars and focused his chakra; the blade jumped into it easily, and he pulled it back past the bars and smiled smugly. He was not twelve anymore. He was not a genin.

No prison could hold him.

That was when he heard the blare of alarms. The bars of the prison withdrew into the ceiling with a screech and Sasuke only waited a moment, shocked, before heading to retrieve his team. Waste not, want not.

* * *

"Well, we're in."

Sakura gave Kakashi an eloquent stare and snarled under her breath, berating everything from insane teachers to useless pretty-boys and weird cloak-wearing pretty men, while the alarms screamed around them. There had been surprisingly few obstacles to keep them from entering the base, but the alarms were going to be a dead giveaway that they were there, given the fact that they were echoing through the long, empty hallways.

"You know, I don't think that position is possible," Sai said in response to one of her mutterings, his dark eyes thoughtful.

"It is said simply to relieve stress," Gaara replied flatly.

Sai looked pensive for a moment before nodding, "Well... I suppose attempting such a thing _would_ relieve stress, if you didn't break your back." Sakura drew back her fist.

"Now isn't the time for childish squabbles." For once, Kakashi sounded serious, and his words halted them. "Let's get moving." The three others nodded abruptly and they wordlessly split up into two groups to search for their objective: Naruto. Even if he was hurt, even if he was nearly dead, she would bring him back to the village and chain him up if she had to, and Sasuke as well. Her boys would be back home. They would be a team again. And, while Sakura realized she was being unrealistic and naïve, she was going to pretend that everything could be as she hoped, just for a little while.

Sakura had never been around Gaara for very long, but this journey together had made her far more at ease with the foreign Kage than she had been. She understood at least some things about his personality and had discovered that as little as he recognized or acknowledged it, he cared a great deal about both Naruto and Sasuke, just as she did, and maybe even about her a bit. She didn't know why, but that fact allowed her an insight into his personality that she hadn't had before. She still thought he was creepy, but she had become accustomed to him, and she knew how strong he was. He had beaten Sasuke before where Naruto hadn't.

The halls of the base were surprisingly wide, and although they smelled like earth and stone, they were neither dark nor damp. Every so often there was a tapestry with colors like fire or a map of all of the Hidden Villages. Sakura never would have thought Akatsuki would be much for decorating. It didn't fit with the image that she had of them.

"Well, well. What have we here. A couple of little guppies come to play with the big boys? And a former jinchuuriki."

"Kisame!" Sakura gasped involuntarily. Then her face hardened. "Where is Naruto?"

He leaned against his sword, his strange yellow eyes laughing. "You'll have to find him, little girl, but first you need to get through me." He bared his teeth in a simile of a grin and then charged.

Sakura ducked closer to Gaara, behind the sand barrier that sprang up to defend them. It burst outwards when the sword hit it and fell lifelessly to the ground. Kisame laughed. "My Samehada eats chakra. You think a little sand can stop me, jinchuuriki?"

Gaara and Sakura met each other's gaze. Sakura nodded sharply and separated from Gaara, tightening her gloves around her hands. Gaara couldn't do anything against the sword, but she could. Her chakra didn't reach out, but stayed in her body and made her stronger. Her control was air-tight as well. She would distract Kisame, Gaara would stop him, and they would find Naruto and hopefully Sasuke.

"Cha!" she scoffed, "Just _try_ to pick on us, shark-bait!"

Kisame snarled. "You get that insult from Naruto, little girl?" he asked, charging once again. "It's so old I'm immune!"

"Naruto's twice the man you'll ever be!" she said, ducking under a swing of the sword and halting the progression of her chakra from entering the sword with just a thought. Kisame looked surprised. "Haven't you ever battled a medi-nin? We specialize in chakra control."

The seething whisper of the sand trailing against the stone floor was lost as one chakra-enriched punch was driven into the wall with a loud crash and shower of shattered stone. Sakura bit her lip as Samehada grated against her skin before the air clouded with smoke; a rock was in her place and she was behind Kisame, her kunai speeding toward his back and the hiss of sand in her ears.

The Samehada deflected the kunai and she jumped out of the returned weapon's way before it could hit her in the face, then lashed out. She would win. She would, even against one so much stronger than her. For Naruto, because he had once said that for the people you loved, your companions, your teammates, you could accomplish anything. _Sakura_ could accomplish anything if she was willing to live fully for the ones she loved.

Her kunai tore into his wrist. Samehada dropped.

The sand whirled around them and lashed at Kisame like a whip, tangling around his feet and hands and spitting at the Samehada like an angry cat.

"Where is Naruto?" Sakura practically screamed, fisting her hand in his shirt.

Kisame smirked. "With the Uchiha brothers, of course. Down the hall and to the right, little girl."

A water clone burst and the sand muddied. Samehada disappeared as if it was never there.

* * *

The alarms had finally stopped their screeching, a fact that Itachi was rather pleased with. The alarms, though useful at times, were an annoyance, especially if one didn't want their intruders to know that they were aware of their existence. Naruto, of course, was even more on edge now than he had been before. Sasuke's girl teammate, Karin, was cat-calling at Itachi from a few feet away, finally free from her cell, and Juugo was rocking slowly back and forth. These were the situations that Itachi was decidedly _dis_pleased with. It was during this moment of decided displeasure that Sasuke appeared in the hallway, looking somewhat annoyed at the fact that they were there and, to Itachi's discomfort, armed.

After that were a few seconds of silence between them that was filled only with a rude remark from Suigetsu, and then the thud and skid of several more people coming to a stop.

Naruto laughed nervously, his blue eyes guarded. The flickering yellow light above his head shadowed his face, his dark clothing making him blend in as if he belonged there. "Hi Sakura." He almost sounded guilty.

The team from Konoha wore cloaks just like Akatsuki's and Sasuke's, but they were white instead of black. It was an inane thing to take into account but still one that Itachi found himself noticing.

"Don't look into their eyes," Kakashi said sharply.

"I remember, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura grumbled, her lips tightening. Itachi saw Naruto's eyes widen, shock passing through them, as if he had just realized that while he had once worried about that same exact thing, he had not had that concern in a long time. Itachi could not even seem to remember when Naruto stopped fearing his gaze.

A good shinobi should trust no one, but those had been the rules of the village that Itachi abandoned. Akatsuki had no such rules to live by except to obey the Leader's will and never question him. Akatsuki was about living unfettered by everything as long as it was proven that the job could get done.

When Kakashi attacked, Naruto met Kakashi's kunai with one of his own. The blades clashed and Kakashi sprang back, his one gray eye dark and his Sharingan red eye spinning. His words were low, his tone sharp. "What are you _doing_, Naruto?"

Naruto threw back his head proudly, lifted his chin. His grip on the kunai had not relaxed in the least. "Something selfish."

Kakashi's voice was like a whip. "By protecting a murderer?"

"He's protected you before too, Kakashi," Sasuke said, smiling a smug smile that didn't reach his eyes. His teammates slowly flanked him. Juugo rose from his position on the cell floor and came to stand behind him, quivering, and Suigetsu bared his teeth in some strange smile. Karin twisted a strand of her hair around her finger, pouting.

"What is going on?" Sakura shouted. She punched the wall, a futile gesture, and a bit of dirt rained down on their heads. Sai was starting to smile strangely, in a way that Itachi didn't like in the least.

For very long minute, sixty seconds that seemed to last an eternity, no one spoke. Then Sai said quietly, still almost-laughing, "So is this a kinky threesome thing? I know that some people have a thing for sisters, so this can't be that different."

Even though she was looking somewhere in the approximate space of Itachi's sandals, he could tell that her eyes crossed. "Wha... Sai! Don't _say_ stuff like that!"

"Says the girl who enjoyed the Boys' Love Jutsu," someone muttered.

Then Sakura's eyes rose, not to Itachi's eyes but to Naruto's. Naruto was quiet, his face grim and his eyes panicking. "Oh, Naruto... you can't be serious!"

The only sound in the room that could have been taken for a response was the rattle of sand over stone.

* * *

_This took forever and a day mostly because I'm lazy, but I'm trying to figure out how to be obsessed with certain blonde vampires (Spikey!) and cope with normal, everyday life. It's hard, damn it! Really, really hard! I'm _addicted!

_Feel free to send me much love in the way of reviews. __Again much thanks to everyone who offered to beta__!_


	22. Part Twenty Two: To Meet, To Part

_I am feeling rather thoroughly defeated. If I can ever manage to finish this fic, I think I'm going to take a rather long hiatus from fic-writing... I need to concentrate on my main writing. I'm going to finish this first, though. Still, ugh. This is un-betaed- I couldn't get a hold of her, so I'll repost it if I do, but here it is!_

_Part of the scene with Kisame is due to someone from LiveJournal, so I'd like to thank them for their comments and their help!_

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**Sunrise, Sunset: Part Twenty-Two**

_To Meet, To Part_

Naruto wasn't ready for this. Sakura was staring at him with those big, green eyes like she had just discovered a monster where she had once thought there was an angel. Kakashi looked grim. He had probably known ever since he had seen them together, Naruto unharmed and walking free. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that Naruto had to be here of his own choice.

"Why are you here?" Itachi asked the question when it was obvious that Naruto wasn't going to answer, his Sharingan eyes darkening when they looked at the group from Konoha and Suna.

"To get back my team!" Sakura snapped. Her chakra flared with her anger. Naruto could almost taste it, like mint and wildflowers. He wished they had just taken another day or two, long enough for him to figure out what was going on with Itachi and long enough for them to deal with Sasuke. The situation was too explosive for all of them to be there at once. Now that it had happened, though, there was no way that Naruto was going to back down.

"I sorta pulled a Sasuke," Naruto admitted, voice small. Sai made a funny snorting noise. "Uh, I mean, Akatsuki knew where Orochimaru was and the Leader guy doesn't want me dead for some weird reason and it's been working out pretty well so far and _Sakura_, _the jutsu scrolls_! Then Sasuke showed up and we knocked him on his ass. I was _gonna_ bring him back to you. Then you came here."

"We should go home then, Naruto," she said very, very slowly.

Naruto flinched, peeking at Itachi's unreadable face out of the corner of his eye. He didn't want to go home. Not yet. "I kinda signed a blood oath, Sakura-chan."

"Naruto, what were you thinking?" Kakashi hissed. Naruto's former sensei sounded more than a little annoyed.

"That rules, traditions, whatever- all those things just keep people from what they need to do! Though if Sasuke can beat Orochimaru or whatever he did, maybe he didn't need saving."

Sakura tapped her foot slowly. "Just what is going on here, Naruto?" She looked between Naruto and Itachi; looked briefly toward Sasuke before looking away. "I thought you were in love with _me_." She sounded bewildered, as if a cornerstone of her world had been ripped away.

"Aw... Sakura..."

"Is there going to be a fight? Or can I leave?" Sasuke's words were abrupt, almost brash in the uncomfortable atmosphere that had arisen with Team Kakashi's arrival. "You're standing in my way."

"What is all of this?" Kakashi asked, frustrated. His one visible eye looked, just as Sakura's had, between Naruto and Itachi, to Sasuke, between Sasuke and Itachi.

"A rather strange battle of words, what else?" the Leader said ironically. His voice, as it was different from all of the parties present, was rather noticeable in the silence that had resulted from nothing of worth being said. "You'll be pleased, Naruto. I didn't kill your teacher when I had planned to. Though he is rather unconscious."

"Wow, thanks," Naruto said sarcastically. "You mind?"

The Leader blinked. "No, of course not." He leaned back against the wall, making himself comfortable. "Please, continue."

Gaara, who had been silent throughout the exchange, turned his head abruptly to look at Kakashi. "Are we going now?"

"Of course not!" Sakura said loudly. "Why would we—?"

"When your enemy outnumbers you, you escape and regroup," Gaara said woodenly. "We should go."

"Cha! We're not outnumbered! There are four of us and... um..." Her eyes did a quick tally of Akatsuki members, and then rested on Hebi and the smirking Karin. "Oh." She sighed softly, her pink hair falling over her face for a moment before she shoved it back. "Naruto... why?"

Naruto tilted his head, the gesture curiously canine, and his blonde hair almost touched his shoulder. "Because... Konoha keeps calling people evil without looking in a mirror."

She closed her eyes and turned to the side, as if to leave. "Will you come back, Naruto?"

"Hey, you'll always be my teammate, Sakura-chan. Besides, I can just imagine how hard you'd hit me if I didn't ever see you again."

Sakura smiled a bit and tried to pretend that was an answer. "Are we going, Kakashi-sensei? Regroup?"

Kakashi gave Naruto another sharp glance. "Apparently."

"And then we can ask about the threesome?" Sai asked brightly.

"Shut up, Sai," his teammates replied together. Their backs were tense as they left and they looked as if they expected a kunai in the back, but they still walked away.

Gaara lingered for a moment, his pale eyes locked on Naruto's. "Your... precious people, the people important to you..." he said slowly. "Are they still... important?"

Naruto smiled. "Of course, Gaara. Things like that don't go away."

Gaara nodded. Sand flared up around him; he was gone before it disappeared. When Naruto finally got around to looking back, Hebi was gone too.

"That was fun," the Leader said, straightening. "I will be in my study, should anyone need me."

Kisame appeared somewhere from the darkness, gingerly holding one slim, bright-colored novel with a look of disgust. "Jeez, can't you two keep this crap in one of your rooms or something?" He tossed the book to Naruto before practically running from the room.

"Hey, this is Kakashi's, not mine!" Naruto exclaimed. After skimming through it, he groaned. "And I'm really glad Jiraiya didn't "research" this while I was with him. I should've known Kakashi wouldn't limit his perversions."

If Naruto wasn't mistaken, Itachi actually had a very pale flush on his cheeks. He laughed and tucked the book into his weapon's pouch; Kakashi would probably want it back. "C'mon, Itachi. We need to find an excuse for me to stay longer."

Itachi hesitated briefly before following Naruto. His long, dark hair swung over his shoulder like a trail of ink off the quill. "I don't love you, y'know." Though Naruto said it quite conversationally, Itachi still tensed. Naruto looked at him out of the corner of his eye before continuing, still a bit tense himself. "I'm not even sure what to think about you, half the time. But there's something..." He shrugged and stayed silent.

"Perhaps I know what you mean," Itachi admitted softly. "They will be coming back. You need to be ready."

The change of subject was abrupt, but welcome. "Yeah!" Naruto cheered. "More training! Got anything to teach me, ne, Itachi-sensei?"

His companion almost smiled, and it felt like a victory.

* * *

"I don't get it," Sakura murmured. They were only a few paces away from Akatsuki, but it was fairly obvious that no one was going to attempt to kill them quite yet.

"What's there to get?" Sai asked drolly. "Naruto, like all men, is thinking with his-"

"Sai!"

Sai shrugged, looking confused. "I thought it was common knowledge. I really shouldn't have to tell you."

"He's being stupid," Kakashi said scornfully. His arms were crossed defensively over his chest. He was staring broodingly at the Akatsuki base and acting entirely un-Kakashi-like, or rather, like Kakashi on a mission. Sakura supposed he was, but it was still somehow frightening to see Kakashi so serious.

"He was worried, but he was happy," Sakura corrected. She was looking at Akatsuki's base as well. "I don't think he's been happy since Sasuke left."

Gaara said nothing and looked at the sky, wondering.

The Leader paused, one sharp fingernail resting on the scroll he was reading. In the dark, his eyes reflected like a cat's. "Got it," he whispered. He grinned a grin that showed too many teeth and summoned a fox.

* * *

_Yeah, yeah. Another cliffhanger. Piffle. You should be glad you got this as it is, considering. I know it's short, but again: piffle. Word of the day! Reviews, please, despite my frustrations._


	23. Part Twenty Three: Explanations

_No, you're not hallucinating, I promise. This is a new chapter. So here's the deal: I'm not really in the Naruto fandom anymore, not to say that I never will be again, but I'm not now. __However__, due to popular demand, I am going to finish this fic in the coming weeks rather than once I'm really in the fandom again. It's not any great trial for me, and you deserve it for being so patient. I want to thank you for that, and all your support. I will try to update at least once a week until this fic is finished, which I believe will be in roughly five more chapters, give or take. Please, try to keep me honest about that._

_Due to not being in the fandom, I've forgotten a lot of the little facts, so if something in this chapter doesn't make sense to you, feel free to tell me. All previous chapters of this fic have been edited to fix the problem with suddenly switching POVs (I can't believe I used to do that!) and to fix minor errors._

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**Sunrise, Sunset: Part Twenty-Three**

_Explanations_

The day after Team Kakashi and Hebi had infiltrated Akatsuki, the Leader called everyone into his study. Not all of Akatsuki, of course, but all of those that were in the base at the current time. He paced back and forth, a scroll clenched in his hand as he waited for everyone to gather from the corners of wherever they were, scurrying back to his study, though surely Itachi, at least, could never be accused of scurrying. He had a summon fox at his side, sitting next to him with a fox grin that was all too similar to that of a bloodthirsty wolf's. This one was gold instead of red, which soothed Naruto's nerves, since the last one had flirted way too much considering that it was four-legged and furry and Naruto just wasn't into bestiality.

"So are we all present and accounted for now?" the Leader said jovially. He was way too happy for Naruto's comfort. "Good! We just have one more to arrive and then we can begin."

"What exactly is going on?" Naruto asked Itachi, leaning against him just enough so that his voice would reach Itachi's ears alone. "He's freaking me out."

"He has not informed me," Itachi replied dryly, Sharingan eyes tracking the Leader's every movement back and forth as he paced across the room. "I suspect it has to do with you."

Naruto blinked. "Me?" Itachi stayed silent in reply to Naruto's exclaimed question, just watching as the Leader paced back and forth. "He looks… happy. It's sort of weird," Naruto said quietly.

Itachi didn't reply, as the door had just opened. It took Naruto quite a while to recognize the man that had walked through, but at last, it was the orange mask shoved up over to the left of his head that let Naruto realize who it was.

"Tobi?" he squeaked. The sound, though hardly one that a shinobi should make, was highly applicable to his feelings. Tobi looked over at him, cold and long, and Naruto shut up. His chakra was…. "You're not _Tobi_."

"So blondes do have brains, despite my previous experience otherwise." His voice was cruel and light, with just the hint of an upper-class Konoha accent, like he was from one of the clans.

At Naruto's side, Itachi was curiously tense, Sharingan eyes spinning wildly. If Naruto didn't know better, he would think Itachi was afraid.

"Shut up, Madara," the Leader said. He stopped in front of Tobi—had he called him "Madara"? Who the hell was that?—and smiled. He had a scroll in his hand still and was tapping it impatiently against his thigh. "Your time is up."

"Already?" Tobi's face, all long, clean lines and thin scars, showed mild surprise. "I'm afraid I have plans, Pein."

Itachi and Kisame both jolted slightly at the sound of the Leader's name. The Leader just rolled his eyes, dark red and the circles of black in them growing darker by the second. "You know what you owe us. You can't do anything. Now stay silent while I speak."

"Or the Elders will revoke their bargain here and now," the gold fox said.

Naruto, needless to say, was very confused. Itachi was probably confused to, but being an Uchiha meant that he generally didn't show that sort of thing to the public. Kisame had no such qualms, and was rubbing the back of his head and squinting, as if that could make the answers to his questions come better into focus.

"Now that we're all here, let's discuss our situation," the Leader said. He stopped in front of the two Akatsuki nin and Naruto, his smile the same as the fox on the floor near his feet. "Do you know what a summon really is?"

Naruto blinked. "It's…" he hesitated before continuing with, "a summon, that's what it is. Jeez, how am _I_ supposed to know!"

Kisame started snickering. Naruto really hated that damn fish-for-brains.

The Leader snorted. "Well, that's true enough, if a little stupid of you. A summon is a creature from another realm, summoned from that one into this one. Have you followed so far, or should I speak more slowly?" Naruto glared, but the Leader continued on. "Because they don't belong to this plane of existence, your summons require a contract. I assume you remember that part from what you've already done?"

"Stop treating me like I'm stupid!"

"Do you really want me to stop explaining and tear the Kyuubi from your soul, or would you prefer me to continue?"

Naruto shut up, leaning a little closer to Itachi, though not close enough to affect his aim if the Leader tried to kill him. Damn, that man was scary when his eyes narrowed like that.

The Leader sighed and said, "All right, then. Maybe I should make this a little shorter, for those of you with little intellect. Your so-called demons, such as the Nine-Tailed Fox you contain, is a summon fox. An extremely powerful summon fox, one whose contract has gone on for too long and one whose people want him back."

Naruto considered that for a moment. Then he considered it again, and then tried for a third time. "Okay. So why are we talking about this now?"

Tobi shifted and Naruto gulped as a wave of the man's chakra—darker than the Nine-Tailed Fox's, darker than anything Naruto had ever felt before—swept over him. "Because your chakra systems are interconnected, and just as taking the Nine-Tailed Fox from you would kill you, killing you would cripple the Nine-Tailed Fox."

Naruto huffed loudly, still not getting the point. "Okay, so what? I assume you know how to do it now, so who the hell is this bastard that should be Tobi? Because he's not Tobi."

"He is Uchiha Madara." It was Itachi who answered, his voice almost too even. Kisame's mouth fell open, though Naruto wasn't sure why. "He once tried to control the Nine-Tailed Fox, weakening it enough that Orochimaru could summon it to attack Konoha. He is also dead."

Naruto flailed at that and nearly fell over. "What? You're telling me this—this—this guy, over here—" He pointed wildly at Tobi, or Madara, or whatever his name was. "—is some sort of zombie?" He suddenly had the mental image of graying skin and rotting flesh, arms stuck out straight, and his skin crawled.

"I am impressed by your stupidity. Apparently, my previous impression of blonde shinobi was correct." Madara grinned and it stretched the scar that bisected his upper lip. "I am a spirit, not a zombie, sent on the behalf of the fox Elders to make sure that our dear friend Pein gets the job done that he was given to do."

Naruto's brain hurt, a lot. "So why exactly is the Leader working for the fox Elders or whatever, again?"

The Leader smiled darkly, and it was entirely too much like one of the Kyuubi's for Naruto to be comforted by it. "Because I'm a fox."

For the first time in quite a while, Naruto felt the thrash of the Nine-Tailed Fox's tails against the inside of his cage, the growl-laugh that he had when truly pleased, and the low, distant thrum of satisfaction.

The Kyuubi was satisfied that Naruto hadn't managed to figure it out before now. Naruto just wanted to pass out a little bit.

"So… what? All that stuff about world domination was just a cover?"

"More like an amusing pastime that enabled me to obtain missing nin to work with me." The Leader waved his hand vaguely. "It hardly matters now. Endgame has begun. I'm going to separate you from the Nine-Tailed Fox."

Naruto felt sick, and a little dizzy, and kind of like he wanted to throw up. His thoughts wouldn't, couldn't, settle; Kisame and Itachi were entirely silent. He didn't know if this was a good thing, or a bad thing, or what kind of thing it was. If it was anything. But it had to be something, didn't it? Because the Nine-Tailed Fox wasn't going to be a part of him anymore, and wasn't that something big?

"Will I be less powerful?" Naruto finally asked, fastening his gaze to the Leader's.

"No. Not that you could stop me if you were."

Madara laughed at that, low and delighted, and Naruto ignored him because Madara was sort of a creep.

"Okay," Naruto said.

And that was that.

* * *

Initially, the Leader said, he had thought that he would need a full party of Akatsuki who bore rings. He had needed it for the other Tailed Beasts. What he was doing now was different, though. The Kyuubi and Naruto would still be able to draw on each other's power. Naruto would still be alive, so a large portion of their link would still be active.

Itachi noted that in his explanation and his set-up for the ritual-jutsu, the Leader had never mentioned how much it would hurt Naruto.

Naruto was screaming. His hair was plastered all over his face and cheeks; his clothing clung and stuck to him, where he wore it, and the skin on his torso was inflamed red. His muscles were tense because he refused to fall further than his knees, sitting there with his fists clenched on the floor and his body trembling in fear, and in pain.

Naruto was in so much pain, and Itachi realized that he _hated_ it, which wasn't a good thing at all. A shinobi couldn't care this much—it would affect this decisions, his allegiance to his patrons, everything. Seeing Naruto in pain, though, none of that mattered.

The Leader and Madara were standing in front of and behind Naruto respectively while Kisame and Itachi guarded the edges of the room. Kisame was grinning—he had always liked the pain of other's a little more than Itachi's tastes could bear—but Itachi frowned and felt a niggling, writhing feeling in his chest that he suspected was concern. He hadn't felt it in so long that he barely recognized what it felt like, but he _knew_ it now. More than recognizing it, he _knew_ it.

Chakra lashed out of Naruto's body in ropes and streams, a full nine of them streaming behind him like tails. He screamed even louder at that, tears streaming down his face that Itachi was sure he didn't know were there. And then, all at once, the chakra boiled out of him and up, forming a fox so large that it barely fit in the room. The tails lashed again, knocking books and scrolls to the floor. The wind whipped up around the Nine-Tailed Fox and suddenly, Naruto stopped screaming.

Itachi's heart nearly stopped.

The Nine-Tailed Fox looked as if it had disappeared, but of course it hadn't. Standing in the middle of the room was a tall man with orange hair, one that better fit into the room than the Kyuubi's true body had. Itachi could just see the edge of its face and it was staring at Madara with disgust.

"Uchiha Madara," it said, voice like the rumble of a storm. It stalked over to Madara, who was bearing a look of mild concern on his face. Then it wrapped a hand around Madara's throat and pulled, taking something out of him that did not bear Tobi's face but one more similar than not to Itachi's own. He left the body to crumple on the ground.

Effortlessly holding the struggling spirit by the throat, it looked over at the Leader and the fox at his feet. "Finally broke me out? Took you long enough, Pein, Fier."

The fox, Fier, bowed. "Yes, it did. It was complicated. Ready to go home, my lord?"

"You have to ask?" The Nine-Tailed Fox stared down at Naruto's body and, taking the spirit with him in movement that looked painful for Madara, crouched beside Naruto. One clawed hand reached out to touch Naruto's forehead very lightly, and it—or rather, he—looked up at Itachi and grinned. His face looked just like Naruto's. "Oh, he's _alive_, Uchiha. Don't worry. Coming, Pein?"

The Leader shook his head shortly. "You go ahead, my lord. I need to tie up loose ends here."

The Nine-Tailed Fox grinned, dark and wild and out of control. "Don't be too long, Pein. Come, Fier." In a burst of fire, the three of them, the two foxes and the spirit, disappeared.

The Leader looked at Kisame and Itachi for a long moment, then down at Naruto. "You're going to have questions, I'm sure, but let's wait for Naruto to revive, shall we? Otherwise, you'll have to explain for me after I've gone."

Kisame took a half-step forward, hand clenching around the hilt of Samehada. "You're really leaving?"

"I have to."

Beside Naruto, Itachi sank to his knees and pressed a hand to Naruto's cheek. He was burning hot, but though unconscious, a grim, satisfied smile curled on his lips.

Itachi would have to take that as a reassurance that Naruto would be all right. He didn't, truly, have any other choice.

* * *

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